UC-NRLF 


Proceedings 


of  the 


Agricultural 
Conference 


and 


Corn  Show 


Held  by  the 


Corn  Exchange  National 
Bank    ::    ::    Philadelphia 


City  Hail 
Bourse 

Bellevue-Stratford 
December  6,  7,  8.    1913 


Cc- 


Corn  Exchange  National 
Bank  Corn  Show  and 
Agricultural  Conference 


Assisted  by 


The  Commercial  Exchange 
State  College  of  Pennsylvania 
City  Club  of  Philadelphia 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company 
Board  of  Trade 
Bourse 

Philadelphia  Produce  Exchange 
Pennsylvania    Rural    Progress 
Association 


The  University  of  Pennsylvania 

Ohio  Society  of  Philadelphia 

Chamber  of  Commerce 

Merchants'  and  Manufacturers' 
Association 

Hardware  Merchants'  and  Manu- 
facturers' Association 

Philadelphia  Society  for  Promoting 
Agriculture 


Philadelphia 

Thursday,  Friday,  Saturday 
December  4,  5,  6,  1913 


(     •  •     •  -••  .•«•• •  •       •      • 

..  .  . ,•.  •«•  I   1     *  •      •  ••• 


jf; 


Table  of  Contents 


PAGE 

Program    "reprint"    5 

Address  of  Welcome.     George  W.  Porter,  Director  of  Public  Safety. .  9 

Response.     Charles  S.  Cahvell   10 

"The  Inter-Eelation  of  City  and  Country."    Hon.  Thomas  P.  Gore 13 

"The  Rural  Situation."    Mrs.  Edith  Ellicott  Smith 24 

"Market  Conditions."     Dean  E.  L.  Watts 29 

Remarks. ,  Honorary  Chairman,  Antonio  Sans,  Esq 36 

"City  Trade  Bodies  and  Agriculture."    C.  L.  Logan 38 

"Problems  in  Marketing  Eggs."    E.  W.  Benjamin 44 

"Problems  in  Marketing  Eggs."    C.  L.  Opperman 54 

"City-Country  Unity  Through  Market  Bureaus."    Prof.  C.  L.  King.  .  60 
"The  Economics  of  the  Milk  Question."      (Illustrated.)      Bi.  John 

R.  Williams   73 

"Feed  Cost  of  Producing  Milk."    Prof.  C.  W.  Larson 84 

Agricultural  Extension.     Prof.  M.  S.  McDowell 158 

Remarks.     Chairman  Clarence  Sears  Kates,  Esq 91 

"The  Rural  Organization  Service."    Dr.  T.  N.  Carver 95 

"Increasing  Grain  Production."     Don  Blair 114 

"The  Farm  Bureau;  What  It  Is  and  What  It  Does."    A.  B.  Ross 101 

"Trustee,  Landlord  and  the  Farm  Bureau."    Lardner  Howell,  Esq. . .  109 

Remarks.    Honorary  Chairman  Alba  B.  Johnson,  Esq 119 

"IS'ecessity  for  Terminal  Markets."    Hon.  Cyrus  0.  Miller 120 

"Results    of    Railroad    Co-operation    in    Transportation    of    Farm 

Products."    Dr.  Mary  E.  Pennington 130 

"Cold  Storage."     Frank  A.  Home 137 

Remarks.     Chairman  Charles  Z.  Tryon,  Esq 150 

Ohio  Agricultural  Commission.     A.  P.  Sandles,  President 152 

Remarks.     Dr.  Thorn 155 

Remarks.     Prof.  Alva  Agee   156 

"Boys'  and  Girls'  Corn  and  Tomato  Clubs."      (Illustrated).     0.  H. 

Benson     164 

"Boys  Illustrating  Corn  Club  Organizing."     Russell  Lord 223 

"The  Relation  of  Agricultural  Credit  and  Co-operation  to  the  Cost 

of  Food  in  Philadelphia."    J.  Clyde  Marquis 175 

"The  Efficiency  Movement  and  the  Farm  Problem."     Dr.  J.  Russell 

Smith    179 

Address.     Charles  S.  Cahvell 184 

x\ddress.     B.  F.  Harris 186 

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661715 


PAGE 

"The  State  and  the  Farmer."    Dr.  William  D.  Kurd 194 

"The  Work  of  a  Produce  Exchange.''     N.  P.  Wescott 204 

Address.    Edward  J.  Cattell ' 216 

Pennsylvania  Rural  Progress  Association.     Pres.  Mrs.  E.  E.  Smith.  .  222 

"Successful  Farming."     John  Honeycutt   231 

"The    Dollars    and    Cents    Question    on    the    Farm."      (Illustrated.) 

Dr.  G.  F.  Warren   238 

"Agricultural  Co-operation."    Gifford  Pinchot 235 

Appendix : 

Eeprints  of  folders,  etc. 

Corn  Contest  Announcement 251 

Suggestions  on  Selecting  Ears 257 

Score  Card 257 

Stationery 260 

Winners  in  Contest 261 

Potato  Embargo,  Eeport  of 

C.  S.  Kates 264 

Potato  Embargo 

Decision    266 

Philadelphia  Agricultural  Service  Bureau 

Charles  S.  Calwell 267 

C.  S.  Kates   Ill 


[Reprint  of  Programme.] 

CORN   EXCHANGE   NATIONAL  BANK   CORN  SHOW  AND 
AGRICULTURAL  CONFERENCE, 

Philadelphia, 

Thursday,  Friday,  Saturday,  December  4,  5,  6,  1913. 

ASSISTED   BY 

The  Commercial  Exchange  The  University  of  Pennsylvania 

State  College  of  Pennsylvania  Pennsylvania  Rural  Progress  Association 

City  Club  of  Philadelphia  Ohio  Society  of  Philadelphia 

Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  Chamber  of  Commerce 

Board  of  Trade  Merchants'  and  Manufacturers'  Association 

Bourse  Hardware  Merchants'  and  Manufacturers' Association 

Philadelphia  Produce  Exchange  Philadelphia  Society  for  Promoting  Agriculture 


PURPOSE. 

To  demonstrate  the  mutual  interests  of  the  city  and  country  in 
agriculture. 

By  presenting  the  various  means  for  increasing  efficiency  in  the 
business  of  farming,  such  as: 

1.  Marketing; 

2.  Transportation; 

3.  Surveys — Farm  and  Soil; 

4.  Farm  Bureaus; 

5.  Corn  Shows; 

and  therefore  the  advantage  of  a  Farm  Bureau  for  Philadelphia  to  act 
as  a  '^ Clearing  House"  for  Agricultural  affairs  for  Pennsylvania,  New 
Jersey,  Delaware  and  Maryland. 


PLACE   OF   MEETING. 

All  sessions  of  Conference,  except  Thursday  afternoon  and  Saturday 
afternoon.  City  Hall  Council  Chambers.  Thursday  afternoon  session, 
Witherspoon  Hall. 

CORN  SHOW,  BOURSE  BUILDING. 


OFFICERS. 

Chairman,  Charles  S.  Calwell 

Chairman  Joint  Committee  Secretary  Treasurer 

Clarence  Sears  Kates  C.  W.  Summerfield  N.  B.  Kelly 

Address  all  communications  relative  to  conference  to 

Mrs.  Edith  Ellicott  Smith, 
President  Pennsylvania  Rural  Progress  Association, 
Box  1905,  Philadelphia. 

Exhibit  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  at  Broad  Street  Station  Agricul- 
tural Education  Train  and  a  Dairy,  Refrigerator  and  Live-Stock  Cars. 

(5) 


6 

[Reprint  of  Programme.] 
PROGRAMME. 
PHILADELPHIA   DAY. 
Thursday,  December  4,  1913,  10  a.  m. 
Council  Chambers,  City  Hall. 

Address  of  Welcome,  Mayor  Rudolph  Blankenburg 

Response,  Charles  S.  Calwell, 

President  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank 

''The  Inter-Relation  of  City  and  Country,"  Hon.  Thomas  P.  Gore, 

U.  S.  Senator  from  Oklahoma;    Chairman 
Senate  Committee  on  Agriculture. 

''The  Rural  Situation,"  Mrs.  Edith  Ellicott  Smith, 

President    Pennsylvania    Rural    Progress 
Association. 
"Market  Conditions,"  Dean  R.  L.  Watts, 

State  College,  Pa. 

Afternoon,  2  o'Clock.     General  Topic,  "Marketing." 
WiTHERSPOON  Hall. 

HONORARY    CHAIRMAN,   ANTONIO    SANS,    ESQ. 
President  Commercial  Exchange 

"City  Trade  Bodies  and  Agriculture,"  C.  L.  Logan, 

Binghamton  Chamber  of  Commerce 

"Problems  in  Marketing  Eggs,"  E.  W.  Benjamin, 

Department  of  Poultry  Husbandry,  Col- 
lege of  Agriculture,  Cornell  Univer- 
sity. 
"Problems  in  Marketing  Poultry,"  C.  L.  Opperman, 

Maryland 

"City-Country  Unity  Through  Market  Bureaus,"         Prof.  C.  L.  King, 

Wharton  School,  University  of  Penna 

Evening,  8  o'Clock.     General  Topic,  "Milk  as  a  Business." 

chairman,  charles  s.  calwell,  esq. 
President  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank. 

"The  Economics  of  the  Milk  Question"  (Illustrated), 

Dr.  John  R.  Williams, 
Rochester  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

"Market  Problems  of  the  Milk  Question,"  Prof.  C.  W.  Larson, 

State  College  Pa. 
Discussion  by  Dealers  and  Farmers. 

Agricultural  Extension,  Prof.  McDowell, 

State  College,  Pa. 


[Reprint  of  Programme.] 

PROGRAMME. 
CORN  DAY. 
The  Ohio  Prize  Corn  Growers'  Association  (two  thousand  in  the 
party),  will  visit  the  Corn  Show  on 

Friday,  December  5th. 
Special  prizes  will  be  given  by  the  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank 
for  the  best  five  ears  grown  by  members  of  this  Ohio  Association. 

Friday,  December  5,  1913,  10  a.  m. 

Council  Chambers,  City  Hall. 

chairman,  clarence  sears  kates,  esq. 

Philadelphia  Society  Promoting  of  Agriculture. 

''The  Rural  Organization  Service,"  Dr.  T.  N.  Carver, 

Director,  Rural  Organi-zation  Service,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agriculture,  Washington. 
''Increasing  Grain  Production,"  Don  Blair, 

Sugar  Grove,  111. 
"The  Farm  Bureau;  What  It  Is  and  What  It  Does,"  A.  B.  Ross, 

County  Agent,  Farm  Bureau,  Bedford  County,  Pa. 
"Trustee,  Landlord  and  the  Farm  Bureau,"  Lardner  Howell,  Esq., 

Girard  Trust  Company,  Philadelphia. 
Discussion. 

Afternoon,  2  o'Clock.     General  Topic,  "Markets:  Cold  Storage," 

Council  Chambers,  City  Hall. 

honorary  chairman,  alba  b.  johnson,  esq. 

President  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works. 

"Municipal  Markets,"  Hon.  Cyrus  0.  Miller, 

Chairman,  Mayor  of  New  York's  Committee  on  Municipal  Markets  and  President 
of  the  Borough  of  the  Bronx. 
"Results  of  Railroad  Co-operation  in  Transportation  of  Farm  Products," 

•     Dr.  Mary  E.  Pennington, 
Director,  Food  Research  Laboratory,  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  United  States  Dept. 

of  Agriculture. 
"  Cold  Storage,"  Frank  A.  Home. 

President,  Merchants'  Refrigerating  Co.,  New  York  City. 

Evening,  8  o'Clock. 

Council  Chambers,  City  Hall. 

chairman,  charles  z.  lyon,  esq. 

Vice-President  Hardware  Merchants'  and  Manufacturing  Association. 

"Boys  and  Girls  Corn  and  Tomato  Clubs"  (Illustrated).  O.  H.  Benson, 

United  States  Dept.  of  Agriculture. 
"Whirlwind  Alfalfa  Campaign"  (Illustrated),  Prof.  P.  G.  Holden, 

Chicago 
"Boys  Illustrating  Corn  Club  Organizing,"  Russell  Lord, 

Chairman,  Student  Committee  of  the  Oread  Country  Life  School,  Glencoe,  Md. 


8 

[Reprint  of  Programme.] 

PROGRAMME. 

BANKERS'   DAY. 

Saturday,  December  6,  10  a.  m. 

Council  Chambers,  City  Hall. 

general  topic,  '' agricultural  credit." 

"The  Relation  of  Agricultural  Credit  and  Co-operation  to  the  Cost  of 
Food  in  Philadelphia,"  J.  Clyde  Marquis, 

Delegate  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia  to 
the  American   Commission  on  Euro- 
pean Agricultural  Credits;    Associate 
Editor  "The  Country  Gentleman." 
''The  Farmer's  Thirty-five-Cent  Dollar,"  Herbert  Collingwood, 

Editor  "The  Rural  New  Yorker." 
''The  Efficiency  Movement  and  the  Farm  Problem," 

Dr.  J.  Russell  Smith, 
Wharton  School,  University  of  Penna. 
"Agricultural  Credit,"  Dr.  John  Lee  Coulter, 

United  States  Dept.  of  Commerce  and 
Secretary  of  the  U.  S.  Commission  to 
Study  European  Credits. 

Afternoon,  2  o'Clock. 

Bellevue-Stratford  Hotel. 

(Admission  by  invitation  only) 

Address,  Charles  S.  Calwell, 

President  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank. 
Address,  B.  F.  Harris, 

Chairman  of  the  Agricultural  Commission 
•  of  the  American  Bankers'  Association, 

Champaign,  111. 
"Farm  Restoration,"  Forrest  Crissey, 

"The  State  and  the  Farmer,"        *  Dr.  William  D.  Hurd, 

Massachusetts  Agricultural   College,   Amherst,  Mass. 
"The  Work  of  a  Produce  Exchange,"  N.  P.  Wescott, 

Eastern   Shore   of   Virginia   Produce   Exchange,  Onley,  Va. 

Evening,  8  o'Clock. 
Council  Chambers,  City  Hall. 

"Successful  Farming,"  John  Honey cutt. 

Business  Man  and  Farmer,  Amboy,  111. 
"The  Dollars  and  Cents  Question  on  the  Farm"  (Illustrated), 

Dr.  G.  F.  Warren, 
College  of  Agriculture,  Cornell,  N.  Y. 
"Agricultural  Co-operation,"  Gifford  Pinchot. 


PHILADELPHIA  DAY 


Thursday  Morning,  December  4,  1913,  10  o'Clock. 
Council  Chamber,  City  Hall. 


The  conference  was  called  to  order  by  Charles  S.  Calwell,  president 
of  the  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank,  who  said: 

I  am  sorry  that  we  cannot  have  ^ath  us  this  morning  Mayor  Blanken- 
burg.  His  Honor  is  not  very  well,  and  is  at  the  present  time  in  the  South. 
He  is  great Ij^  interested  in  the  conference,  and  regrets  that  he  cannot  be 
here  himself.  Director  of  Public  Safety  Porter,  however,  mil  speak  on 
behalf  of  His  Honor. 

ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME 

Director  of  Public  Safety  George  W.  Porter:  Mr.  Chairman, 
and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  always  stat€  on  occasions  of  this  kind  that 
I  fail  to  understand  why  it  is  necessary  to  call  in  the  Police  Department, 
but  I  am  not  here  this  morning  as  a  representative  of  the  Police  Depart- 
ment; I  am  a  substitute  for  the  Mayor,  who,  as  most  of  you  know,  is 
unavoidably'  detained  by  reason  of  illness.  I  have  a  message  from  him 
to  explain  to  you  his  heartfelt  greetings,  and  to  say  to  you  that  he  regrets 
more  than  he  can  tell,  his  inability  to  be  with  you. 

He  made  an  engagement  several  months  ago  to  participate  in  this 
conference,  but,  of  course,  by  reason  of  illness  he  will  not  be  able  to  do  so. 

On  behalf  of  the  citj^  I  -^dsh  to  extend  to  all  those  who  come  from 
beyond  its  confines,  a  most  hearty  welcome.  We  are  very  proud  of 
Philadelphia.  We  are  proud  of  it  because  it  has  been  and  is  an  hospitable 
citj'.  We  usually  say  to  those  who  come  to  visit  us  that  we  know  how  to 
entertain  you.  I  am  quite  sure  that  the  programme  that  has  been  arranged 
by  the  committee  in  charge  will  demonstrate  the  ability  of  Philadelphia 
to  do  that  for  which  we  are  quite  famous. 

I  regret  that  I  am  unable  to  speak  to  you  upon  the  subjects  which 
are  to  be  discussed  here  this  morning,  although  I  am  a  farm  product 
myself,  having  served  an  apprenticeship  of  eighteen  j'ears  as  a  farmer's 
boj\  So,  in  a  measure,  I  have  a  right  to  be  here,  but  my  long  absence 
from  work  of  that  kind  probably  does  not  qualify  me  to  speak  on  the 
subject. 

It  is  an  old,  old  saying  that  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  Nation  are 
the  men  who  come  from  the  farms.  I  am  quite  sure  that  if  we  were  to 
take  a  census  of  our  various  cities,  we  would  find  them  filled  with  men 

(9) 


10 

and  women  who  are  the  products  of  farms,  and  that  the  great  men  of 
today,  the  great  men  in  the  financial  world,  great  men  in  the  business 
world  and  commercial  world,  are  the  very  men  w^ho  started  in  their  boy- 
hood days  as  farmers'  boys.  I  think  it  is  just  and  fitting  that  our  great 
city  should  properly  recognize  the  life  of  the  American  farmer  in  his 
relation  to  the  necessities  of  city  life. 

The  time  is  rapidly  approaching  when  the  people  who  live  in  cities 
will  appreciate  more  and  more  the  necessity  for  coming  into  closer  touch 
with  those  who  produce  the  kind  of  things  that  make  possible  our  living 
in  great  cities.  To  the  east  of  us  we  have  a  state  which,  if  properly 
developed,  would  be  one  of  the  garden  spots  of  the  world.  New  Jersey 
probably  stands  in  the  forefront  as  one  of  the  great  trucking  communities. 
I  am  in  .hopes  that  the  day  is  not  far  off  when  the  State  of  New  Jersey 
can  so  rise  to  the  situation  that  it  will  so  develop  the  lands  which  are  now 
lying  idle,  to  enable  the  men  who  own  the  land  there,  to  furnish  to  the 
centers  of  population  all  the  things  that  you  and  I  like  to  eat. 

In  Philadelphia  we  have  in  the  past  two  years,  endeavored  to  bring 
the  farmer,  the  man  who  produces  products  of  that  kind,  in  closer  touch 
with  the  city.  We  have  made  a  careful  study  of  the  markets,  whereby 
the  farmers  can  market  direct  to  the  consumer  the  products  of  their  labor. 
That  the  plans  are  not  yet  consummated  is  not  due  to  any  fault  of  ours, 
but  I  am  quite  sure  the  day  is  not  far  off  when  we  will  enable  the  Phila- 
delphia citizen  to  purchase  his  supplies  directly  from  the  man  who  pro- 
duces them.  Of  course,  we  realize  in  modern  commercial  life  that  everyone 
who  handles  these  products  must  of  necessity  reap  some  benefit  from  it; 
otherwise,  he  could  not  remain  in  business.  But  we  are  all  selfish  enough  in 
our  e  very-day  life  to  try  and  secure  those  things  we  need  at  the  minimum  cost. 

It  has  been  argued  that  one  way  to  secure  that  is  to  put  the  farmer 
and  consumer  in  our  cities  in  closer  touch. 

That,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  is  the  extent  of  my  knowledge  regarding 
farming.  I  only  want  to  conclude  my  remarks  "by  saying  to  you  again, 
Philadelphia  welcomes  you  most  heartily.  It  is  always  customary,  J 
believe,  to  extend  the  keys  of  the  city  to  you.  I  want  to  say  to  you  that 
we  have  no  keys;  they  were  thrown  away  long  ago,  and  we  only  have  the 
old-fashioned  latch-string,  which  always  hangs  out.  If  there  is  anything 
which  the  city  administration  can  do  while  you  are  here  to  make  your  stay 
pleasant  and  profitable,  I  want  you  to  feel  sure  that  we  are  ready  to  serve 
you,  and  all  that  is  necessary  to  be  done  is  for  you  to  say  the  word. 

I  thank  you  for  the  opportunity  of  appearing  here.     [Applause.] 

Mr.  Calwell:  Right  at  the  beginning,  I  would  like  to  say  that 
I  do  not  know  anything  about  agriculture,  but  I  am  very  glad  indeed  that 
the  City  of  Philadelphia  is  beginning  to  take  an  interest  in  this  great 
subject.  I  thank  Director  Porter  for  his  kindness  in  giving  us  the  freedom 
of  the  city,  and  offering  to  help  this  movement  in  every  possible  way. 


11 

It  is  going  t  J  be  a  big  movement,  this  mDvement  for  tne  improvement 
of  agriculture.  The  unfortunate  part  of  it  is  that  the  farmer  in  a  great 
many  instances,  does  not  feel  that  he  needs  help  and  perhaps  does  not  want 
help,  but  we  in  the  city  know  that  we  are  paying  higher  prices  for  food. 
We  know  that  riding  out  in  the  country,  we  can  see  the  farm  products 
wasting  on  the  ground,  and  we  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
way  we  can  help  this  movement,  for  cheaper  living,  is  by  studying  the 
question  of  farm  production  and  transportation  and  selling.  This  is  not 
a  question  of  philanthropy  at  all;  it  is  a  question  of  business.  That  is 
the  reason  that  the  Corn  Exchange  Bank  is  in  this  movement,  and  also 
the  reason  that  the  trade  bodies  have  become  interested  here  with  us. 
On  the  front  page  of  the  programme  you  will  see  the  names  of  the  different 
trade  organizations  that  are  associated  with  us  in  helping  to  solve  these 
problems.  In  addition  to  the  Board  of  Trade,  Bourse,  Philadelphia  Pro- 
duce Exchange  and  Commercial  Exchange,  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
Merchants'  and  Manufacturers'  Association,  Hardware  Merchants'  and 
Manufacturers'  Association,  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  the  City  Club 
and  Ohio  Society  of  Philadelphia,  we  have  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
State  College,  the  Pennsylvania  Rural  Progress  Association  and  the 
Philadelphia  Society  for  Promoting  Agriculture,  all  interested  in  this 
movement. 

There  are  plenty  of  means  for  developing  farm  lands  and  of  instructing 
the  farmer  how  to  increase  his  production.  But  there  is  more  than  that 
to  this  subject;  there  is  the  question  of  transportation,  the  question  of 
marketing  and  the  question  of  meeting  the  needs  of  the  consumer.  Penn- 
sylvania has  the  largest  rural  population  of  any  state.  We  have  right  here 
in  this  wonderful  agricultural  section,  surrounded  by  the  best  agricultural 
country  anywhere  in  the  United  States — Chester  County,  Lancaster 
County  and  all  through  the  eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania.  Take  New 
Jersey:  No  better  section  anywhere;  also  Delaware  and  Maryland. 
You  cannot  find  any  better  agricultural  land  than  we  have  here.  Yet  it 
is  selling  in  some  sections  for  practically  nothing.  We  have  a  wonderful 
market  here.  Six  or  seven  millions  of  people  are  right  within  two  or  three 
hundred  miles  of  our  homes.  Why  should  we  not  raise  enough  agricultural 
products  and  food  supplies  for  ourselves?  We  do  not  do  it.  You  go  down 
along  Dock  Street  and  Front  Street,  and  you  will  find  that  we  are  getting 
turkeys  from  Texas,  chickens  and  other  poultry  from  Illinois,  Indiana 
and  even  further  west.  We  are  getting  butter  from  Minnesota.  You 
try  to  find  where  the  Pennsylvania  products  are,  and  they  tell  you  that 
they  cannot  give  you  any  percentage;  it  is  so  small  that  it  is  hardly  worth 
noticing.  The  only  way  they  can  use  Pennsylvania  poultry  is  by  having 
it  shipped  in  alive  and  killing  it  on  Front  Street;  otherwise,  it  does  not 
come  in  in  good  condition. 

When  the  housewife  goes  to  the  store  and  pays  a  dollar  for  a  dozen 
eggs  and  pound  of  butter,  it  is  time  that  the  farmers  around  Philadelphia 


12 

should  get  some  of  the  benefits  of  these  high  prices.  I  beUeve  it  is  possible 
to  develop  in  Philadelphia  a  bureau  of  information,  where  the  farmer  can 
come  and  get  information  about  markets,  and  about  fertilizers  and  seeds; 
also  a  bureau  where  good  immigrants  could  find  out  where  they  could  locate 
on  good  farms.  They  are  running  Immigrant  Departments  in  the  states 
out  West.  Why  should  we  ijot  get  some  of  these  good  men,  men  who  have 
gone  out  to  Minnesota  and  developed  farms?  Why  could  not  the  same 
thing  be  pursued  up  in  Bucks  County  and  different  locations  which  have 
just  as  good  soil?  I  believe  there  is  great  opportunity  for  development 
in  the  southern  part  of  New  Jersey,  the  eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania, 
Delaware  and  Maryland. 

We  are  going  to  take  up  the  question  of  cold  storage  and  transporta- 
tion. Judging  from  the  bill  passed  at  the  last  legislature,  we  need  to 
take  that  up  and  study  it  a  little,  because  that  bill  is  the  worst  bill  in 
the  United  States,  and  is  going  to  do  a  great  deal  of  harm  right  here  in 
this  city.  You  are  going  to  find  that  butter  and  eggs  are  going  to  be 
very  much  higher  unless  we  can  get  people  outside  of  the  state  to  ship 
in  cold  storage  goods  beyond  the  time  set  by  the  legislature.  Why  should 
such  a  law  pass?  We  ought  to  think  about  these  laws  before  they  are 
passed.  That  is  one  of  the  questions  that  we  are  going  to  take  up 
tomorrow  afternoon.  We  will  also  have  meetings  here  on  boys'  and 
girls'  corn  clubs,  and  on  Saturday  the  bankers'  meeting.  So,  we  will 
have  plenty  of  discussion,  and  there  is  no  need  in  my  spending  any  more 
time  talking  on  those  subjects  today. 

We  have  present  this  morning  Senator  Gore,  from  Oklahoma.  He 
has  come  from  a  great  distance  and  is  a  very  busy  man.  I  know  he  has 
a  lot  of  figures  which  he  accumulated  in  Washington.  We  appreciate 
Senator  Gore's  coming  here.  He  is  interested  in  agriculture,  and  as 
chairman  of  the  Agricultural  Committee  of  the  Senate,  I  am  sure  he 
can  give  us  a  message  that  will  help  us  along  in  this  great  movement. 
I  take  pleasure  in  introducing  Senator  Thomas  P.  Gore. 


THE   INTER-RELATION   OF   CITY  AND   COUNTRY. 


Hon.  Thomas  P.  Gore, 
U.  S.  Senator  from  Oklahoma;  Chairman,  Senate  Committee  on  Agriculture. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  am  obliged  to  your  presiding  officer  for  his 
very  courteous  presentation.  I  must  plead  guilty  to  the  suggestion  that 
I  have  been  somewhat  busy  during  the  extra  session  and  during  the  recent 
weeks.  Indeed,  I  might  say  that  my  desire  to  be  present  and  to  attest 
my  interest  in  your  organization  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  I  have  torn 
myself  away  from  an  extra  session  of  the  Senate.  At  least,  we  like  to 
imagine  that  we  are  pretty  busy  down  in  Washington,  and  especially  do 
we  like  to  have  other  people  imagine  that  we  are  pretty  busy  in  Wash- 
ington. Yet  I  believe  that  nothing  which  Congress  ever  does  seems  to 
give  such  universal  satisfaction  as  its  adjournment.  The  people  generally 
seem  to  look  upon  the  adjournment  of  Congress  a  good  deal  like  an  old 
darkey  I  used  to  know  in  Mississippi.  If  any  of  you  people  come  from 
that  region  you  know  that  there  is  nothing  that  the  southern  darkey 
enjoys  better  than  a  funeral.  On  one  occasion  an  old  Uncle  was  return- 
ing from  one  of  those  outings,  when  he  happened  to  pass  one  of  the  white 
laborers  by  the  way.  The  white  man  says,  "Hello,  Uncle,  Brown  is 
dead?"  He  says,  "Yes."  He  said,  "What  seemed  to  be  the  complaint?" 
"Well,  sir,"  he  replied,  "I  ain't  heard  no  complaint  yet;  it  seems  to  give 
pretty  general  satisfaction."  [Laughter.]  That  is  the  way  the  country 
generally  seems  to  look  upon  the  adjournment  of  Congress. 

Now,  my  friends,  I  appreciate  the  opportunity  to  be  present.  I 
have  come  to  attest  my  interest  in  the  purposes  and  in  the  objects  of  this 
organization.  As  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Agriculture  of  the 
Senate,  I  wish  to  set  the  seal  of  my  approval,  for  whatever  that  may 
signify,  upon  this  organization,  and  upon  all  other  organizations  which 
seek  to  promote  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  agriculture  in  this  country, 
and  which  seek  to  bring  about  a  better  understanding  and  a  better  relation- 
ship between  the  residents  of  the  city  and  the  residents  of  the  country. 

There  are  many  organizations,  and  a  grooving  interest  in  this  subject, 
as  proven  by  the  multiplication  of  societies  dedicated  to  the  betterment 
of  rural  life.  I  hope  to  see  a  consolidation  of  many  of  those  societies  and 
many  of  those  organizations,  and  I  hope  to  see  the  co-ordination  and  co- 
operation of  them  all.  In  division  there  is  waste;  in  union  there  is  effi- 
ciency, and  while  we  counsel  the  elimination  of  waste  and  the  stimulation 
of  efficiency  as  one  of  the  great  means  for  the  betterment  of  agriculture, 

(13) 


14 

we  are  still  guilty,  to  a  great  or  less  extent,  of  waste  and  inefficiency  on 
the  part  of  those  who  seek  the  elimination  of  those  very  evils. 

I  come  to  assure  you  of  my  disposition  and,  I  believe,  the  disposition 
of  Congress  and  the  administration,  to  promote  in  every  possible  way  the 
improvement  of  rural  life  and  aid  in  the  solution  of  the  problems  of  rural 
life,  which  are  but  the  problems  of  our  national  life.  We  have  not 
devoted  too  much  time,  we  have  not  devoted  too  much  thought  to  the 
problems  of  the  city;  we  have  not  devoted  too  much  attention  and  have 
not  rendered  too  much  assistance  to  the  enterprises  and  industries  of  the 
city,  but  we  have  devoted  too  little  time  and  too  little  thought  to  the 
problems  of  the  country,  to  the  problems  of  the  farm,  to  the  larger  prob- 
lems of  our  national  life.  No  one  can  choose  but  wish  the  utmost 
progress  and  prosperity  to  the  enterprises  of  mining  and  manufacturing, 
to  the  means  and  facilities  of  exchange  and  distribution,  but  to  the 
primary  industry  of  production  we  have  not  in  the  past  devoted  sufficient 
thought,  sufficient  attention  and  sufficient  enlightened  study.  There  is 
coming  a  new  time  when  we  shall  no  longer  be  guilty  of  this  dereliction  of 
our  duty.  Tried  by  every  standpoint,  agriculture  is  of  the  very  first 
import.  I  do  not  suggest  this  by  way  of  instituting  any  invidious  com- 
parison. Manufacturing,  mining  and  commerce  are  of  supreme  impor- 
tance to  national  prosperity,  and  to  individual  happiness.  I  merely 
suggest  that  of  primary  and  preliminary  importance  stands  agriculture 
in  the  scale  of  our  national  economy.  Tried  by  the  standard  of  value 
merely  as  an  investment,  agriculture  stands  at  the  head  of  the  list. 

In  this  country  we  have  thirty-four  billions  of  dollars  invested  in 
agricultural  production.  In  improved  and  unimproved  farm  lands  there 
are  788  millions  of  acres.  So,  the  annual  output  of  the  American  farm  is 
more  than  nine  billions  of  dollars.  Tried  by  the  standard  of  numbers 
merely,  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  population,  agriculture  is  of  pre- 
eminent importance.  More  people  are  engaged  in  agriculture  than  in 
any  other  single  industry  or  pursuit  in  the  United  States.  One-third  of 
all  the  people  engaged  in  gainful  occupation  are  devoting  their  time,  their 
talents  and  their  energy  to  agriculture.  Tried  by  the  standard  of 
permanence  agriculture  is  of  foremost  importance.  It  is  the  oldest  settled 
industry  amongst  the  sons  of  men.  Hunting  and  fishing  and  herding 
have  had  their  time  of  ascendency,  but  that  time  has  past.  Agriculture 
will  not  pass;  it  must  abide  with  us  so  long  as  civilization  obtains 
amongst  us.  It  is  the  only  means  by  which  a  large  population  can  be 
sustained  upon  limited  territory.  Judged  by  its  origin  and  vital  neces- 
sity, it  is,  of  course,  the  foremost  occupation.  It  is  the  very  source  of 
our  existence.  It  is  the  foundation  from  which  flows  the  means  of 
subsistence.  It  is  needless  for  me,  and  I  do  not  intend  to  enlarge  upon 
the  necessity  or  indispensability  of  agriculture.  This  is  known  to  you  all. 
There  are  problems  connected  with  this  which  I  wish  to  state,  which  I 
do  not  intend  to  solve,  and  which  I  could  not  solve  at  this  time. 


15 

We  hear  much  complaint  about  the  drift  of  population  from  rural 
districts  to  our  cities.  Under  the  first  census  only  three  per  cent  of  our 
population  were  classified  as  urban.  Under  the  last  census  forty-six  per 
cent  of  the  population  resided  in  cities  and  towns  as  classified  under  the 
census  regulations.  There  are  reasons  why  this  tendency  persists,  and 
with  those  reasons  we  must  deal,  if  we  would  counteract  that  tendency. 
Some  of  the  reasons  cannot  be  counteracted,  some  of  the  reasons  ought 
not  to  be  counteracted.  There  are  others,  however,  which  are  temporary, 
which  are  artificial,  and  which  ought  not  to  obtain,  and  which  ought  to 
be  arrested,  or  which  ought  to  be  counteracted. 

There  are  many  means  which  we  can  employ  to  encourage  the 
residents  of  the  rural  districts  to  remain  and  not  to  join  in  this  procession 
or  in  this  mad  rush  from  the  farm  to  the  factory,  from  the  country  to  the 
city. 

Now,  here  is  another  fundamental  problem  which  I  will  raise  at 
this  point,  not  with  the  view  of  submitting  an  ultimate  solution.  The 
population  must  grow  if  the  nation  is  to  increase  in  strength  and  greatness 
and,  I  may  add,  in  glory.  We  must  not  aspire  to  be  a  stationary  people, 
but  a  growing  and  multiplying  people.  In  our  problem  the  factor  of 
population  is  an  increasing  factor.  The  pressure  of  population  upon  the 
means  of  subsistence  must  increase,  and  this  raises  what  has  been  known 
as  the  Malthusian  theory.  This  pressure  of  population  upon  the  means 
of  subsistence  will  increase  until  hunger  and  famine  are  threatened,  if  not 
realized.  In  this  country  today  we  have  only  about  thirty  people  to 
the  square  mile.  In  Belgium  there  are  more  than  five  hundred  people  to 
the  square  mile.  In  taking  invoice  in  analyzing  this  problem,  we  must 
deal  with  the  factor  of  population  as  a  constantly  increasing  factor,  for 
none  of  us  w^ould  consent  to  that  factor  becoming  fixed  or  becoming 
stationary. 

Now^,  the  area  of  land  is  a  fixed  factor.  It  does  not  increase;  it 
cannot  be  made  to  increase.  There  are  variable  factors,  however,  which 
are  subject,  in  a  large  measure,  to  our  control,  and  which  must  be  con- 
trolled if  we  are  to  meet  the  requirements  of  an  increasing  population. 

Fertility  is  not  a  fixed  factor,  but  it  is  really  subject  to  our  manage- 
ment and  subject  to  increase.  Tillage,  improved  tillage,  is  not  a  fixed 
factor;  it  is  a  variable  factor.  It  is  one  that  can  be  influenced  by  the  will 
and  by  the  activities  of  man. 

Upon  these  factors,  then,  w'e  must  concentrate  our  intelligence  and 
our  energy.  There  w^e  must  find  the  solution  of  our  problems.  There 
we  must  relieve  the  pressure  of  population  upon  the  fixed  land  area  and 
upon  the  means  of  subsistence.  It  w^as  declared  about  two  hundred  years 
ago  that  tillage  was  fertihzation. 

Now^,  our  mines  and  our  forests  ought  to  be  conserved.  The  con- 
servation of  our  forests  is  one  of  the  great  national  problems,  w^hich  is 
entitled  to  that  deep  solicitude  and  attention  w^hich  it  has  received  during 


16 

recent  years.  Unfortunate  it  is  that  this  attention  was  not  sooner  directed 
to  the  conservation  of  our  vast  forest  resources.  In  many  locaHties  they 
have  been  exhausted  and  in  many  locahties  they  have  been  impaired. 
Perhaps  in  every  locahty  until  in  recent  years  those  resources  have  been 
neglected.  National  interest  and  patriotism  have  devoted  themselves 
to  the  task  of  arresting  this  waste,  this  dissipation  of  a  resource  which 
can  be  rebuilded  only  through  a  long  series  of  years,  rising  almost  to  the 
century  mark.  Our  mines  have  been  wantonly  worked  and  wasted  in 
the  past.  Unlike  the  forests,  they  cannot  be  recuperated,  even  with  the 
lapse  of  centuries.  Once  exhausted,  a  mine  is  always  exhausted.  It 
becomes  a  reminis(^ence.  It  becomes  one  of  those  cemeteries  where  the 
dead  past  continues  to  bury  its  dead.  We  can  only  reduce,  minimize 
or  eliminate  waste  in  the  operation  of  mining  and  in  the  use  of  the  out- 
put of  the  mine.  We  cannot  restore  to  life  the  exhausted  mine  or  the 
exhausted  ore.  Waste  is  the  evil  to  which  the  soil  is  equally  liable.  There 
are  those  who  mine  the  soil  instead  of  tilling  the  soil.  This  is  our  greatest 
resource,  resource  upon  which  collective  society  depends  for  its  existence 
and  upon  which  every  individual  depends  for  his  maintenance  and  for 
his  existence.  The  growing  or  grown-up  individual  must  rely  upon  the 
soil  for  his  subsistence  as  relies  the  babe  upon  its  mother's  breast.  The 
beggar  in  his  rags  and  the  prince  in  his  purple  depend  alike  upon  the 
fruits  of  the  soil  for  existence  and  for  life  itself. 

I  cannot  say  more — I  need  not  say  more  to  accentuate  the  indis- 
pensable necessity  of  this  resource  and  of  its  conservation.  The  exhaustion 
of  the  fertility  of  the  soil  is  a  national  calamity.  This  exhaustion  has  run 
rampant  in  the  past  in  this  section  and  in  many  sections  of  the  union. 
The  abandoned  field  is  seen  as  an  enduring  monument  to  the  waste  which 
has  run  riot  in  other  days.  The  fertility  of  the  soil  is  our  greatest  patri- 
mony. It  is  the  national  heritage.  True,  we  have  ownership  of  land  in 
severalty  in  this  country,  yet  every  individual  and  society  collectively 
has  a  direct  interest  in  the  conservation  and  in  the  maintenance  of  the 
fertility  of  the  soil. 

Improved  tillage  upon  fertilization  is  the  other  means  and  resource 
upon  which  we  must  rely,  in  order  that  a  fixed  land  area  may  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  increasing  population,  in  order  that  the  Malthusian 
theory  may  never  come  to  our  door  as  the  wolf  of  want. 

The  possibilities  of  fertilization  and  of  tillage  hardly  have  limits. 
Their  capacity  is  almost  unlimited.  I  remember  in  the  vicinity  of  Paris 
2  7-10  acres  which  produced  250  tons  of  vegetable  product.  In  Egypt 
900  people  are  maintained  on  a  single  square  mile  under  irrigation.  The 
number  rises  to  1,200  in  portions  of  India,  and  in  the  Empire  of  Japan 
there  are  45,000,000  souls  and  the  tillable  land  amounts  to  less  than  20,000 
square  miles,  less  than  the  area  of  New  Jersey  and  Maryland  combined. 

By  proper  fertilization  and  by  proper  tillage  this  country  will  be 
able  to  meet  and  maintain  all  the  requirements  of  an  increasing  popula- 


17 

tion  practically  without  limit.  It  cannot  be  done,  however,  if  we  neglect 
these  resources.  This,  then,  is  the  paramount  problem  and  the  supreme 
duty  alike  of  nation  and  of  state.  I  rejoice  to  see  your  society,  your 
organization  and  other  organizations  devoting  themselves  to  the  remaining 
phase  of  this  problem.  Science  has  discovered  all  the  principles  of  fertiliza- 
tion and  tillage.  The  truths  of  agriculture  are  known  to  the  scientists 
and  they  mu^t  be  made  known  to- the  farmer.  Our  light  is  of  little  aid 
if  it  remains  under  a  bushel.  The  man  who  tills  the  soil,  the  man  who 
farms  the  farm,  must  be  made  conversant  with  these  principles,  not  only 
that  they  must  be  induced  to  apply  these  principles  to  practical  farming, 
they  must  not  only  be  taught — they  have  been  taught — that  brains  mix 
with  the  soil' better  than  bone  dust;  but  that  intelligence  is  as  essential 
to  successful  farming  as  is  the  sunshine.  But  it  is  our  concern,  it  is  the 
concern  of  the  country,  it  is  the  concern  of  the  city,  to  see  that  these 
principles  are  mingled  with  the  soil  itself.  The  duty  devolves  upon 
the  state,  upon  the  Federal  Government  to  disseminate  the  truths  and 
principles  of  scientific  agriculture,  to  induce  their  practical  application. 

It  is  fortunate  that  societies  of  this  kind  are  formed  to  reinforce  the 
activities  of  the  state  and  of  the  general  government.  A  bill  is  now  pend- 
ing* before  the  Committee  on  Agriculture  which  I  hope  to  see  reported 
on  Tuesday  next,  providing  for  farm  extension  and  for  farm  demonstra- 
tion work  in  every  state  in  the  union.  This  work  is  to  be  carried  on  in 
conjunction  with  our  agricultural  colleges,  the  purpose  being  to  carry 
these  principles  to  the  individual  farmer  and  to  stimulate  their  adoption 
and  their  use  by  the  individual  farmer. 

Societies  of  this  kind  can  do  a  great  deal  to  overcome  prejudice  where 
prejudice  exists  and  to  overcome  suspicion  where  suspicion  exists.  Your 
organization  ought  to  bring  about  a  closer  understanding  and  co-operation 
between  the  cities  and  the  country  with  a  common  purpose  in  view. 
You  should  co-operate  with  the  farmers,  not  as  patron  with  dependent, 
not  as  master  with  student,  but  as  common  citizens  and  co-laborers,  ani- 
mated by  a  common  purpose  addressed  to  a  common  object,  inspiring  a 
feeling  of  fraternity,  of  fellowship,  of  mutual  trust  and  co-operation,  that 
neither  one  nor  the  other  is  attempting  to  become  or  is  attempting  to  prey 
upon  his  fellow,  but  is  attempting  to  serve  his  fellow.  The  greatest  obli- 
gation which  any  man  owes  to  his  fellow,  or  unto  society  itself,  is  the 
obligation  of  service. 

Now,  there  are  several  ways  in  which  I  hope  to  see  the  Committee 
on  Agriculture  of  the  Senate  become  more  serviceable  in  the  future  than 
in  the  past  to  the  farm  and  farmer  of  the  United  States.  We  ought  to 
have  in  this  country  a  system  of  farm  credits  suited  to  the  conditions  of 
our  coimtry  and  to  the  needs  of  our  farms.  -  Farm  credit  systems  have 
grown  up  in  the  several  countries  of  the  old  world,  in  Germany,  in  France, 
in  Italy;    and  such  systems  are  now  being  installed  in  England,  Scot- 

*  This  bill  (the  Lever  Bill)  has  since  been  passed  and  signed  by  the  President. 


18 

land^and  also  in  Ireland,  systems  which  enable  the  farmer  to  employ  his 
credit  when  he  needs  his  credit.  The  farmer's  credit  is  part  of  his  pos- 
session; it  is  an  asset,  and  it  ought  to  be  made  available  unto  him  when- 
ever he  requires  it  and  whenever  he  can  use  it  to  his  individual  advantage 
or  to  the  advantage  of  his  community. 

These  systems  have  grown  up  in  the  old  world,  systems  adapted 
to  local  conditions  and  to  the  local  needs  of  the  people.  It  was  my 
pleasure  to  offer  and  secure  the  adoption  of  an  amendment  to  the  last 
agricultural  bill,  raising  a  commission  to  visit  Europe  to  study  those 
systems  and  report  upon  them.  This  commission  has  visited  Europe. 
It  was  in  session  yesterday  and  will  submit  its  report  at  an  early  date.* 
These  systems  of  rural  credit  will  not  interfere  with  and  they  will  not 
overturn  our  established  commercial  institutions  and  not  interfere  with 
the  existing  banking  system.  They  are  to  supply  a  need  which  our 
present  banking  system  is  not  suited  to  supply,  a  need  which  they  do 
not  at  present  meet,  but  a  need  which  ought  to  be  met  either  by  the 
estabhshment  of  new  institutions  suited  to  the  purposes  or  by  the  readap- 
tation  of  the  existing  institutions,  not  only  personal  credit  systems,  but 
land  credit  systems.  I  submit  one  solution.  In  Europe  they  borrow  money 
upon  land  for  long  time  periods  at  a  low  rate  of  interest.  A  loan  of  a 
thousand  dollars,  for  instance,  will  be  repaid  during  a  period  of  fifty-four 
years  by  annual  pajonents  of  S48.50.  This  pays  the  principal  and  liqui- 
dates both  principal  and  interest  and  pays  the  operating  expenses  of  the 
institution.  An  annual  payment  of  S48.50  is  easily  met.  A  system  of 
this  sort  in  this  country  would  provide  securities  for  the  investment  of 
hoarded  money,  would  enable  the  farmers  to  enlarge  their  farms  and 
improve  their  farms,  and  would  enable  the  younger  men  to  purchase 
farms,  as  well  as  to  improve  them.  The  long  time  and  the  low  rate 
moderates  the  burden,  so  that  his  energies  can  be  devoted  to  improve- 
ment, so  his  credit  is  rendered  available  and  is  made  a  real  asset,  service- 
able alike  to  himself  and  to  the  community. 

I  think  that  Congress  will  at  an  early  date  pass  a  measure  looking 
to  the  establishment  of  systems  of  farm  credits  of  this  character.  This 
should  be  encouraged  alike  by  those  engaged  in  commercial  banking 
and  by  the  community  at  large. 

Another  respect  in  which  the  Conmiittee  on  Agriculture  can  be  of 
service  to  the  farmer  is  in  the  establishment  or  in  encouraging  the  estab- 
lishment of  improved  market  facilities  throughout  this  country,  not  only 
in  our  larger  cities,  but  in  every  section  of  the  country.  Much  progress 
has  been  made  in  this  direction  in  some  European  cities  and  in  some  of 
our  own  states,  California  and  Florida,  for  instance. 

It  is  admitted  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  that  more  than 
$25,000,000  is  wasted  every  year  in  marketing  the  cotton  crop  of  the 

*The  Commission  has  published  the  first  installment  of  its  report — Agricultural 
Co-operation  and  Rural  Credit  in  Europe.     Senate  Doc.  No.  204. 


19 

South.  While  this  is  of  no  direct  concern  to  you,  yet  you  must  but  feel 
a  sympathetic  interest  in  this  important  subject.  Seventy-five  million 
dollars  are  wasted  to  the  farmers  of  the  South  through  the  want  of  improved 
market  advantages.  I  might  say  here  that  we  ought  to  raise  the  standard 
of  warfare  against  waste- — waste  in  private  affairs  as  well  as  waste  in  public 
affairs.  This  standard  should  not  be  lowered  until  this  warfare  concludes 
in  complete  conquest,  in  complete  triumph.  Waste  is  uncivilized.  It 
must  be  eliminated  before  we  attain  the  highest  standard  of  civilization. 

Now,  the  farm  products  of  the  United  States  aggregate  more  than 
nine  billions  annually.  Perhaps  a  third  of  this  is  retained  upon  the  farm 
for  domestic  consumption,  and  something  more  than  six  billions  are  mar- 
keted annually  by  the  farmer.  The  farm  products  bring  the  producer 
about  six  billion  dollars  annually,  but  when  these  products  are  retailed 
to  the  consumer,  they  bring  thirteen  billions  of  dollars.  There  is  a  spread 
of  seven  biUion  between  the  price  received  by  the  producer  and  the  price 
paid  by  the  consumer. 

Now,  it  is  impossible  to  believe  that  there  is  not  much  of  waste,  much 
of  needless  profits  in  this  vast  amoimt  of  seven  billion  dollars.  This 
waste  is  due  largely  to  the  want  of  marketing  advantages,  marketing  facili- 
ties, to  the  want  of  centralized  intelligence,  to  the  want  in  one  locality 
of  the  supplies  available  in  other  localities. 

The  problem  of  the  high  cost  of  living  must  receive  at  least  a  part 
of  its  solution  in  this  quarter.  The  producer  could  easily  receive  two 
bilHons  more,  and  the  consumer  could  easily  pay  two  biUions  less  and  both 
would  be  vastly  benefited,  and  yet  there  would  be  a  spread  of  three  or  four 
billions  to  pay  for  the  ultimate  requirements  of  exchange  and  distribution. 
Of  course,  these  estimates  of  figures  are  generalities,  but  they  point  the 
problem,  the  place  where  the  solution  must  in  part  be  applied. 

I  am  pleased  to  report  to  you  that  when  the  agricultural  appropriation 
bill  was  passed  in  March  last  the  Senate  attached  an  amendment,  creating 
a  market  bureau  in  the  Agricultural  Department.  In  conference  we  were 
obliged  to  surrender  that  section,  but  we  retained  an  appropriation  of 
$50,000  to  enable  the  department  to  make  a  study  of  marketing  conditions 
and  facilities  in  Europe  and  in  different  sections  of  this  country.  Dr. 
Carver,  formerly  of  Harvard  University,  and  perhaps  the  highest  authority 
upon  agricultural  economics,  in  this  country,  has  been  placed  in  charge 
of  this  work.  He  recently  visited  Europe,  and  the  country  will  at  an 
early  date  begin  to  realize  the  fruits  of  his  researches  and  investigation.* 

The  appropriation  bill,  passed  during  the  present  session,  will  increase 
the  amount  from  $50,000  to  $150,000  and  possibly  $200,000.  There  is 
no  economy  in  closing  our  eyes  against  the  light;  ignorance  has  no  advan- 
tages, but  enlightenment  has  infinite  advantages.  We  must  lay  our  hands 
to  the  solution  of  this  problem,  and  whatever  waste  exists,  if  any,  in  our 
present   marketing   conditions,    must   be   eliminated.      The   advantages 

*The  Bureau  of  Markets  has  since  been  organized  and  is  in  active  operation. 
Dr.  Brand  is  chief  of  the  Bureau. 


20 

which  can  come  from  the  most  improved  methods  must  be  secured  aUke 
to  our  farmers,  to  the  producers  of  the  country  and  to  the  consumers 
of  the  country.  Your  organization  can  assist  in  the  solution  of  this  prob- 
lem, as  in  the  solution  of  other  problems,  but  when  our  farms  have  been 
fertilized,  when  they  have  been  wisely  tilled,  when  the  farmer  has  been 
provided  with  credit  upon  reasonable  terms,  and,  then,  there  is  still  one 
other  service  which  the  general  government,  in  conjunction  with  the  state 
government,  can  render  to  the  farmer  of  this  country.  I  allude  now  to 
the  construction  and  maintenance  of  a  system  of  improved  highways. 
It  is  difficult  for  us  to  excuse  ourselves — in  fact,  we  cannot  excuse  ourselves 
for  neglecting  this  important  subject  for  most  a  century.  We  are  two 
thousand  years  behind  the  Roman  Republic,  the  Roman  Empire. 

With  respect  to  public  highways,  we  have  no  system,  no  national 
system,  and  we  have  no  system  in  a  majority  of  the  states.  Only  twenty- 
two  states  have  made  even  an  effort  hi  the  direction  of  the  development 
of  the  highways,  and  in  the  direction  of  devotuig  scientific  thought  to  the 
construction  and  maintenance  of  a  system  of  public  roads. 

Congress  expends  from  $20,000,000  to  S50,000,0Q0  a  year  on  rivers, 
few  of  which  are  navigated.  We  spend  from  $15,000,000  to  $25,000,000 
for  public  buildings,  few  of  which  are  indispensable  to  the  efficiency  of  the 
public  service.  With  respect  to  highways  we  have  heretofore  made  no 
expenditures,  excepting  a  mere  trifle,  to  stimulate  interest. 

Now,  the  purpose  of  this  expenditure  is  legitimate,  the  stimulation 
of  interest  is  the  principal  object  which  the  general  government  ought 
to  have  in  view.  The  average  haul  amongst  the  farmers  is  nine  miles. 
These  roads  ought  to  be  constructed,  in  the  main,  by  the  people  of  the 
locality  which  they  penetrate.  The  taxation  ought  to  be  a  local  taxation, 
so  that  the  people  can  know  whence  it  comes  and  whither  it  goes.  Most 
of  the  people  can  have  little  direct  concern  in  rural  routes  from  the  eastern 
to  the  western  sea.  These  are  not  matters  of  indifference.  I  hope  to  see 
the  Lincoln  Highway  constructed  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  Indeed, 
I  have  become  a  subscriber  to  the  fund.  I  hope  to  see  the  road  constructed 
from  Whmipeg  to  the  Gulf,  because  that  will  stimulate  interest  and  inspire 
imitation. 

My  friends,  it  is  estimated  by  experts  that  every  time  the  sun  sets, 
the  farmers  of  the  United  States  have  lost  a  million  dollars  between  the 
rising  and  setting  of  the  sun,  on  account  of  our  neglected  public  highways, 
the  waste  of  time,  waste  of  energy  and  wear  and  tear  on  team  and 
vehicle — one  million  dollars  a  day,  aggregating  during  the  year  more 
than  three  hundred  millions.  It  is  hard  to  estimate  the  necessaries  and 
comforts  which  this  three  hundred  million  dollars  would  supply  if  this 
waste  were  eliminated  and  if  this  amount  were  applied  to  the  purchase  of 
comforts  and  of  necessaries. 

I  say  stimulation  of  interest  is  the  principal  purpose  which  ought  to 
animate  the  general  government.     Sufficient  money  is  expended  now  for 


21 

the  construction  and  maintenance  of  a  magnificent  system  of  highways. 
Approximately  two  hmidred  million  dollars  a  year  are  paid  by  the  people 
of  this  country  in  township,  county  and  state  for  road  purposes,  and  yet 
we  get  no  roads,  excepting  in  a  few  states  like  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
New  Jersey  and  a  few  others  in  New  England  and  one  or  two  in  the  West, 
Wisconsin  and  other  localities.  In  my  own  state  the  people  contribute 
three  million  dollars  a  year  for  the  construction  of  roads,  and  yet  we  get 
no  roads  except  what  nature  has  provided.  There  she  has  been  generous. 
We  have  the  best  natural  system  of  roads  in  the  world.  I  have  to  say 
that,  because  I  am  a  candidate  for  re-election  and  I  have  got  to  say  some- 
thing about  the  roads. 

The  trouble  is  we  have  a  small  imit  and  a  small  road  district.  There 
is  no  centralized  authority,  no  concentrated  intelligence,  no  general 
direction.  It  comes  from  the  ground  up.  There  is  no  one  anywhere 
charged  with  power  or  duty  of  formulating  a  general  system  of  public 
highways.  Only  yesterday  I  introduced  a  bill  in  the  Senate  designed  to 
secure  co-operation  between  the  Federal  Government  and  the  State 
Governments,  and  to  give  general  direction  and  supervision,  so  as  to 
insure  a  system  of  national  highways.  The  state  is  required  to  put  up  a 
dollar  for  every  dollar  appropriated  by  the  general  government.  That 
is  an  effectual  safeguard  against  what  is  known  as  the  pork  barrel.  For 
my  own  part  I  am  opposed  to  every  form  of  pork  barrel,  whether  it  be 
known  as  appropriation  for  rivers  and  harbors  or  not.  I  approve  of 
generous  appropriations  for  the  improvement  of  rivers  and  harbors,  which 
are  actually  used  in  commerce,  trade  and  navigation,  but  not  the  pork 
barrel.  I  have  no  penchant  for  the  pork  barrel.  I  am  not  going  to  waste 
the  people's  good  money  in  the  name  of  good  roads.  Such  a  measure  as 
I  have  suggested  will  be  a  blessing  to  the  people  of  the  United  States 
and  will  redeem  our  reputation  from  a  charge  which  can  be  justly  brought 
against  us — one  not  only  of  indifference,  but  of  neglect,  touching  a  subject 
of  the  highest  concern  both  locally  and  nationally. 

There  are  other  ways  and  means  in  which  the  Committee  on 
Agriculture  in  Congress  can  be  serviceable  to  the  farm  and  farmer.  I 
shall  not  levy  a  higher  tax  upon  your  patience  by  proceeding  further  with 
the  discussion.  I  may  repeat  that  I  have  appreciated  the  compliment 
implied  in  the  invitation  to  be  present  today.  I  embrace  the  oppor- 
tunity with  pleasure,  I  am  glad  and  happy  to  have  met  you,  happy  to 
have  been  able  to  assure  you  of  my  deep  interest  and  my  abiding  sym- 
pathy in  the  purposes  and  in  the  object  of  your  organization,  happy  to 
be  able  to  assure  you  of  my  interest  and  intention  to  co-operate  with,  your 
organization  and  with  all  other  organizations  which  you  can  create  to  pro- 
mote the  advancement  and  prosperity  of  the  farmer  and  the  farm,  which 
cannot  but  have  a  reciprocal  advantage  on  the  prosperity  of  our  cities. 

We  expend  every  year  on  our  army  and  navy  the  sum  of  $250,000,000. 
We  spend  upon  agriculture  about  $17,000,000.      We  expend  upon  the 


22 

army  and  navy  enough  every  year  to  construct  homes  sufficient  to  house 
a  milHon  people.  We  expend  upon  the  bloody  arts  of  war  $250,000,000. 
We  expend  upon  agriculture,  the  fruitful  arts  of  peace  only  $17,000,000  a 
year.  Of  course  we  must  deal  with  conditions  as  they  are.  I  wish  it 
were  possible  for  us  to  arrange  with  all  the  powers  of  the  earth  to  let 
the  Republic  stand  for  one  brief  year  undisturbed  and  undestroyed,  so 
that  during  that  brief  year  we  could  expend  $250,000,000  upon  agriculture, 
upon  internal  improvements  upon  rivers  and  harbors,  upon  public  high- 
ways— $250,000,000  to  make  life  worth  the  living,  and  expend  only 
$17,000,000  preparing  for  the  butchery  of  our  brethren. 

Of  course,  I  know,  and  you  know,  that  the  Golden  Age  has  not  come 
and,  perchance,  is  not  coming,  when  the  war  trumpets  shall  throb  no 
longer,  and  the  battle  flag  be  furled;  but  let  us  hope  the  tendency  is 
toward  the  time  when  the  nations  of  the  earth  will  cease  to  determine 
which  is  right  and  which  is  wrong  by  the  amount  of  bloodshed  and 
slaughter  one  is  able  to  inflict  upon  the  other.  Let  us  hope  the  tendency 
is  towards  the  time  when  we  will  regard  as  the  greatest  hero  the  man  who 
makes  two  ears  of  corn  grow  where  one  had  grown  before,  or,  what  is 
better  still,  makes  one  ear  of  corn  grow  where  none  had  grown  before. 
I  hope  the  tendency  is  toward  the  time  when  we  will  look  upon  that  man 
as  a  greater  hero  than  he  who  takes  a  city,  when  we  will  regard  the  man 
with  the  hoe  a  more  glorious  citizen,  and  a  more  useful  citizen,  than  the 
conqueror  who  wades  through  slaughter  to  the  throne. 

Mr.  Calwell:  We  all  appreciate  that  address  of  Senator  Gore's. 
It  has  been  practical.  We  are  very  glad  to  be  in  closer  touch  with  the 
service  the  Government  is  rendering  and  is  going  to  render  the  country 
in  that  farm  extension  work  it  is  going  to  make  in  every  state.  That 
sounds  like  a  very  good  idea  to  me.  I  would  like  to  ask  if  Senator  Gore 
would  let  us  have  some  information  about  that  bill,  the  number  of  the 
bill  or  what  the  bill  is  called,  so  that  this  organization  and  the  bankers  of 
Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Delaware  and  Maryland  will  be  able  to  get 
together  and  request  their  senators  and  representatives  to  take  an  espe- 
cially active  interest  in  that  work.  The  Senator  also  mentioned  the 
waste  in  cotton  of  $25,000,000  and  said  perhaps  we  had  a  sympathetic 
interest  in  that  statement.  We  have  a  very  active  interest  in  that. 
Philadelphia  is  the  cotton  yarn  center  of  the  United  States.  We  have 
a  ticker  in  the  bank,  and  more  people  come  to  see  the  quotations  of  cotton 
than  come  in  to  see  the  quotations  of  the  stock  exchange.  Every  manu- 
facturer in  Kensington  and  Manayunk  is  complaining  today  of  the  rise 
of  the  cost  of  cotton  yam.  So  we  are  just  as  interested  in  saving 
that  $25,000,000  as  Oklahoma  or  any  other  state  in  the  West  or  the 
South. 

Dr.  Carver  was  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  Market  Bureau. 
We  are  going  to  have  Dr.  Carver  speak  to-morrow  morning,  and  I  think 


23 

it  will  be  well  to  amplify  that  fact,  so  that  you  can  come  and  hear  what 
he  has  to  say  regarding  this  market  bureau. 

Time  passes,  and  I  cannot  say  anything  more  except  to  introduce 
here  the  president  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rural  Progress  Association.  Mrs. 
Smith  has  been  quite  active  in  this  movement  and  has  had  much  to  do 
in  shaping  the  programme  and  the  work  of  the  conference.  She  knows, 
as  few  others,  the  actual  conditions  in  the  rural  districts  of  Pennsylvania. 
I  take  great  pleasure  in  introducing  Mrs.  Smith. 


RURAL  CONDITIONS. 


By  Edith  Ellicott  Smith, 
President,  Pennsylvania  Rural  Progress  Association,  Pennsdale,  Pa. 


The  conference  which  is  now  beginning  in  this  city  is  only  another 
indication  of  the  awakening  of  the  business  men  of  the  United  States  to 
the  need  of  concerted  action  on  their  part  for  -the  improvement  of  country 
life  and  agriculture,  because  of  the  close  interdependence  of  city  and 
country.  To  those  who  are  in  close  touch  with  the  rural  districts  the 
constantly  growing  unrest  among  the  agricultural  classes  has  been  fully 
apparent.  By  city  men,  except  as  they  are  farm  owners,  this  has  only 
been  faintly  realized.  The  unrest  which  has  been  growing  in  the  country 
has  been  brought  about  by  many  causes,  both  economic  and  social.  A 
belief  on  the  part  of  young  people  and  women  on  the  farms  that  country 
life  is  dull  drudgery  and  that  a  brighter  happier  life  lies  in  the  city  seems 
to  prevail. 

Farm  labor  has  become  more  and  more  discontented.  We  have  a 
man  farming  for  us  who  has  four  sons;  two  of  them  as  soon  as  they  reached 
the  age  of  eighteen  left  for  the  city  to  become  mechanics;  the  other  two 
have  not  a  good  word  to  say  for  farm  life  and  arie  panting  to  get  away. 
They  will  go  as  soon  as  they  are  eighteen.  Nearly  every  day  some  farm 
hand  appears  at  the  office  with  complaints  about  his  work,  his  wages, 
his  hours.  Adjustments  in  and  out  of  reason  are  made,  days  off  are 
given,  a  horse  for  going  visiting,  every  concession  to  induce  them  to 
remain.  Extra  labor  for  pressing  seasonal  occupations,  such  as  harvest- 
ing, filling  silos,  etc.,  is  almost  impossible  to  find.  To  solve  this  problem 
every  rural  commimity  will  have  to  co-operate  in  establishing  some  winter 
industry  to  hold  the  labor  supply.  The  interchange  of  labor  between 
farms  has  been  tried  and  found  to  be  wholly  unsatisfactory,  because  a 
farmer  must  always  return  the  favor  at  the  time  convenient  for  his  neigh- 
bor and  most  inconvenient  for  himself. 

The  Farmer  as  a  Seller. 

The  need  for  a  closer  relationship  between  the  food  producer  and  the 
food  consumer  and  the  elimination  of  the  class  which  preys  on  both,  is 
the  talk  of  the  hour,  and  will  only  cease  when  full  knowledge  regarding 
the  market  situation  is  in  the  hands  of  both  producer  and  consumer.  At 
present  the  farmer  knows  not  to  whom  his  product  goes  any  more  than 
the  city  man  knows  from  whom  his  food  comes.  Neither  does  the  farmer 
in  a  vast  majority  of  cases  know  how  to  prepare  his  product  for  market. 

(24) 


25 

If  only  the  Farmers'  Institute  force,  which  sends  five  speakers  to  nearly 
every  village  and  town  in  each  state  to  talk  on  technical  agriculture, 
would  advertise  one  demonstration  meeting  for  each  of  these  villages 
showing  how  to  prepare  chickens  for  market,  how  to  pack  apples,  etc., 
farmers  would  attend  these  meetings  and  the  state's  funds  would  not  be 
wasted  in  holding  large  numbers  of  meetings  which  are  but  poorly 
attended.  It  is  no  longer  a  problem  of  the  first  importance  how  to  make 
two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  one  grows  now;  the  problem  is  where  and 
how  to  market  what  the  farmer  has  already  grown. 

If  a  prosperous  and  contented  class  is  desirable  on  our  farms  and  if 
a  reasonable  priced  food  supply  is  essential  to  city  dwellers,  some  closer 
touch  and  clearer  knowledge  must  be  brought  about.  At  present  there 
is  a  strong  belief  on  the  part  of  the  consumer  and  producer  that  a  sinister 
and  malign  influence  is  at  work  in  hidden  ways  to  rob  both  parties. 
Public  knowledge  of  the  subject  will  undoubtedly  show  that  the  devil  is 
not  as  black  as  he  is  painted.  Ignorance  raises  barriers  which  knowledge 
might  level.  The  expense  of  transportation  and  handling  the  farmer's 
product  is  large.  But  at  present  it  is  made  out  to  be  so  large  that  neither 
the  man  who  grew  it  nor  the  man  who  eats  it  is  considered.  After  an 
investigation  of  five  hundred  dairy  farms  in  western  New  York,  Dr.  John 
R.  Williams,  of  Rochester,  discovered  that  the  average  investment 
required  for  operating  a  dairy  farm  in  western  New  York  producing 
160  quarts  of  milk  daily  was  $9,000.  One  dealer  in  the  city  can  easily 
deliver  the  milk  of  three  such  farms.  His  total  investment  rarely  exceeds 
$2,500.  Thus  three  farmers  in  the  country  with  an  average  investment 
of  $27,000  receive  no  more  for  their  product  than  one  distributor  in  the 
city  with  not  more  than  one-tenth  the  investment,  and  the  risks  and 
labor  of  the  farmer  are  really  much  greater. 

The  Farmer  as  a  Buyer. 
In  the  country  districts  where  the  farmer  is  a  wholesale  buyer  he  is 
treated  as  if  he  were  a  retail  buyer.  He  buys  thousands  of  pounds  of 
wire  fencing,  horse  shoes,  hardware  of  all  sorts,  feeds  and  fertilizers  by 
the  hundred  tons  and  agricultural  implements  of  expensive  sorts.  But 
his  local  dealers  treat  him  as  if  he  were  the  housewife  who  is  buying  a 
pound  of  sugar  or  a  quarter  pound  of  tea.  He  gets  very  little  more 
consideration  for  a  big  order  than  for  a  small  one.  As  a  result,  when  he 
has  cash  he  is  buying  of  the  mail-order  houses  rather  than  deal  with  his 
local  merchant,  and  his  local  merchant  when  he  has  no  cash  and  wants 
credit  sells  him  a  poor  article  at  a  high  price.  A  state  of  anger  and  resent- 
ment exists  between  himself  and  the  local  merchants.  This  summer  we 
had  occasion  to  buy  fifty  window-sash  for  a  dairy  barn.  We  got  an  esti- 
mate from  three  local  planing  mills  for  this  work.  Their  price  was  $1.75 
per  window.  We  asked  them  if  they  could  not  consider  some  reduction 
on  account  of  the  size  of  the  order.     They  said  it  was  impossible.     We 


26 

ordered  the  windows  from  Sears,  Roebuck  &  Co.,  Chicago,  and  got  them 
for  $1.25  a  window,  including  freight.  The  local  planing  mills  have  one 
price  for  local  orders  and  another  price  for  orders  from  nearby  cities  where 
they  have  more  competition.  The  farmer  can  buy  southern  pine  lumber 
at  18  to  $15  a  thousand  and  it  costs  him  less  even  pajdng  freight  than  to 
buy  lumber  from  the  local  dealers  who  would  charge  him  $25  to  $30  a 
thousand  for  the  poorest. 

The  question  of  feed  in  the  farming  districts  is  also  serious.  The 
following  instance  in  Tioga  County  has  come  to  my  knowledge.  At  the 
present  time  the  farmers  are  selling  off  their  cows  for  almost  anything 
they  can  get,  whole  herds  going  for  a  song,  because  the  dry  weather  last 
summer  killed  the  pasture  and  hay,  and  the  com  crop  is  almost  a  failure. 
The  local  mills  are  selling  feed  for  not  less  than  $30  a  ton.  Consequently 
the  farmers  must  sell  off  their  herds,  as  they  cannot  buy  at  this  price. 
It  will  be  at  least  five  years  before  they  can  regain  their  present  status. 
Even  supposing  this  matter  only  concerned  the  farmers  themselves,  such 
a  condition  is  tragic.  What  makes  it  right  that  the  mills  should  charge 
$30  a  ton  for  feed?  I  sell  my  wheat  for  85  cents  a  bushel,  and  out  of 
that  wheat  the  miller  gets  flour,  bran,  middlings  and  shorts  to  double 
and  treble  his  profits.  Pennsylvania  farmers  are  in  many  places  so  hard 
pressed  for  cash  that  they  must  sell  all  they  can  at  the  lowest  price  when 
the  markets  are  glutted  in  the  fall  and  buy  back  on  credit  at  high  prices 
in  the  spring. 

Pkotection  Needed. 

The  seed  situation  is  worse  in  the  rural  districts  than  almost  any 
other.  Such  a  thing  as  good  seed  is  unknown.  If  the  farmer  sends  away 
to  the  big  seed  houses  he  is  just  as  likely  to  get  more  weeds  than  good 
seed,  or  to  get  seeds  ten  years  old,  which  may  or  may  not  germinate. 
Much  has  already  been  done  in  guaranteeing  fertilizers,  yet  much  remains 
to  be  done.  Misleading  labels  are  still  seen  on  fertilizer  bags.  On  account 
of  scientific  knowledge  necessary  for  the  proper  using  of  fertilizers,  the 
average  farmer  is  at  a  disadvantage  in  any  case.  Analysis  of  feeds  is  of 
the  highest  advantage  to  the  farmer,  and  the  more  upright  a  state  govern- 
ment is  in  this  matter  the  more  it  can  serve  the  farmer  and  through  him 
the  state.  There  is  great  possibility  of  graft  in  the  whole  matter  as  it 
stands  at  present. 

These  are  only  a  few  instances  of  the  unprotected  situation  of  the 
farmer,  the  situation  which  he  cannot  remedy  and  from  which,  if  he  is 
worth  conserving  and  is  a  useful  citizen  of  whom  the  country  has  need, 
he  must  be  delivered.  That  he  is  a  desirable  citizen  and  belongs  to  a 
more  essential  class  than  any  other  has  been  realized  by  all  the  coxmtries 
of  Europe  and  by  none  more  so  than  by  Denmark. 

Here  I  wish  to  pause  to  recommend  to  the  careful  study  of  this 
municipality  and  of  its  large  seed  houses  the  work  done  in  Denmark  by 


27 

a  seed  house  in  putting  on  the  market  seed  which  had  been  tested  and 
whose  viability  and  purity  could  be  vouched  for.  The  work  of  this  firm 
obtained  such  significance  that  the  government  took  over  its  plants  and 
farmers  are  planting  only  first-class,  weed-free,  tested  seed.  Now,  since 
the  various  farm  crops  and  products  are  of  far  more  value  to  the  nation 
than  all  the  organized  dealers  of  all  sorts,  taken  severally  or  taken  together, 
it  stands  to  reason  that  it  is  the  business  of  this  nation  to  see  that  the 
farmer  gets  fair  play  and  a  square  deal.  It  should  be  impossible  for  any 
foul  seed  or  seed  which  is  diseased  or  bad  to  be  put  on  sale  in  even  the 
smallest  country  store.  Fines  can  be  imposed  and  seeds  tested  by  govern- 
ment inspection  which  will  soon  make  it  impossible  to  furnish  low  grade 
seed  at  high  prices,  as  is  now  too  frequently  the  case.  By  testing  cabbage 
seeds  State  College,  Pennsylvania,  has  found  that  varieties  sold  as  early 
are  frequently  late,  that  vast  quantities  of  early  cabbage  do  not  mature 
imtil  late,  which  will  often  rob  a  market  gardener  of  his  whole  early  cab- 
bage crop.     This  is  equally  true  of  all  other  truck  and  farm  seeds. 

After  all,  we  are  perhaps  asking  why  should  the  farmer  be  protected 
more  than  any  other  class?  The  answer  is  very  simple.  He  operates  on 
a  small  scale;  his  profits  are  small  as  compared  with  many  other  busi- 
nesses. He  must  have  ready  to  his  hand  when  the  seasons  come  round 
a  reliable  source  of  supply  for  all  his  needs.  He  cannot  rush  about  the 
country  hunting  up  his  seeds,  fertilizers,  feeds,  etc.  He  must  accept  what 
he  is  sold  by  dealers.  If  he  alone  suffered  when  the  crops  failed  there 
might  be  some  who  would  decline  to  protect  him,  but  since  we  are  all 
dependent  on  him  it  is  our  duty  to  conserve  the  farmer. 

Farm  Credit. 

Of  the  bitter  need  for  a  better  system  of  credit  for  farmers  I  shall 
leave  it  for  those  more  expert  than  I  to  speak.  That  this  need  exists  I 
am  well  aware.  That  better  facilities  for  it  must  be  brought  about  I  am 
very  sure.  In  the  meantime,  I  want  to  point  out  that  the  righting  of 
these  wrongs  is  up  to  the  cities.  The  farmer  can  scratch  along  somehow, 
he  can  still  feed  himself  and  his  family,  but  if  the  city  food  supply  is 
scarce  and  dear,  remember  that  at  present  there  is  no  inducement  for  the 
farmer  to  increase  it.  With  fair  conditions  and  a  comprehension  on  the 
part  of  the  municipalities  that  they  can  better  existing  conditions,  there 
is  no  reason  why  the  eastern  United  States  should  not  become  as  pros- 
perous an  agricultural  section  as.the  West.  For  one  thing  is  pre-eminently 
true,  that  we  have  but  barely  scratched  the  surface  of  our  agricultural 
possibilities. 

Mr.  Calwell:  My  attention  has  just  been  called  to  the  fact  that 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  has  on  exhibition  at  Broad  Street  Station  a 
train  of  agricultural  and  dairy  cars.  You  are  all  invited  to  inspect  them 
some  time  during  the  next  two  or  three  days. 


28 

We  have  heard  some  sKght  criticism  of  State  College,  that  it  was  not 
getting  into  this  work  as  broadly  as  it  should.  I  am  not  a  State  College 
man,  and  we  are  some  distance  from  State  College,  but  I  can  appreciate 
the  handicaps  that  State  College  has  had.  State  College  has  had  prac- 
tically no  consideration  from  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  up  to  this 
last  session.  I  think  that  our  state  representatives  and  senators  now  are 
fully  awake  to  the  state  needs  of  agricultural  development.  The  appro- 
priation at  the  past  session  was  very  much  increased,  and  I  hope  at  the 
next  session  it  will  be  five  times  as  much. 

Dean  Watts,  of  State  College,  Pennsylvania,  is  with  us  today  and  is 
going  to  talk  on  ''Market  Conditions."  .  The  criticism  of  Mrs.  Smith 
was  not  directed  towards  Dean  Watts  at  all.  He  has  labored  under  han- 
dicaps and  has  done  a  remarkable  amount  of  good.  I  believe  the  time 
is  coming  now  when  he  is  going  to  get  a  great  deal  more  money  and  a  great 
deal  more  help,  not  only  from  his  own  college,  but  from  the  representatives 
of  Pennsylvania  and  from  other  associations  down  here  in  Philadelphia. 
I  take  great  pleasure  in  introducing  Dean  Watts,  of  the  State  College. 


MARKET  CONDITIONS. 


Dean  R.  L.  Watts, 
State  College,  Pa. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  can  assure  you  it  is  a  great  pleasure  to  appear 
in  this  conference  as  the  representative  of  your  agricultural  college.  This 
institution  does  not  belong  to  President  Sparks,  his  faculty  or  the  trustees, 
but  it  is  your  college.  While  we  have  almost  1,200  students  studying 
agriculture,  we  feel  that  one  of  the  most  important  hues  of  work  of  the 
School  of  Agriculture  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  College  is  to  take  the 
College  to  the  farmer.  We  know  that  an  exceedingly  small  percentage 
of  your  sons  and  daughters — ^the  young  people  of  this  state — will  ever 
find  it  possible  to  come  to  the  College.  There  are  225,000  farmers  in 
Pennsylvania  and  we  have  in  the  College  over  1,000  of  them,  but  this  is  a 
very  small  percentage  of  those  who  must  have  help.  So  that  we  reahze 
that  our  great  problem  is  to  take  the  College  to  the  farmer  and  help  him 
solve  his  problems  right  on  his  own  ground. 

I  have  been  requested  to  speak  on  market  conditions  and  I  wish  to 
discuss  this  topic  w4th  special  reference  to  Pennsylvania.  The  interests 
of  the  city  and  country  are  mutual.  Whatever  is  beneficial  to  the  farmer 
will  usually  help  the  city  man.  We  hear  a  great  deal  in  the  country  about 
the  high  cost  of  living  in  the  city.  Occasionally,  when  we  drift  into  the 
city  restaurants,  we  wonder  how  in  the  world  the  city  man  can  make 
both  ends  meet;  and  when  you  talk  to  the  farmer,  he  will  in  all  probability 
tell  you  that  his  profits  are  not  any  larger  than  they  were  a  few  years 
ago.  We  realize  that  city  consumers  are  paying  more  for  food  than  they 
have  paid  for  many  years,  but  producers  are  not  reahzing  very  much  larger 
profits. 

I  want  to  congratulate  the  Corn  Exchange  Bank,  Rural  Progress 
Association,  The  Philadelphia  Society  for  Promoting  Agriculture  and 
everybody  who  has  had  any  part  in  this  meeting,  on  the  idea  of  having  a 
get-together  conference  in  Philadelphia.  I  am  glad  that  the  framers  of  the 
programme  have  barred  out  all  questions  relating  to  production.  It  is  high 
time  that  the  producers  of  this  district  and  the  consumers  in  our  cities  get 
together  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  market  problems. 

There  are  certain  factors  which  contribute  largely  to  the  high  cost  of 
food,  and  I  shall  view  this  question  largely  from  the  standpoint  of  one  who 
lives  in  the  country  and  who  has  had  experience  in  producing  for  city 
markets.  In  the  first  place,  those  of  us  who  live  in  the  country  beUeve 
that  too  many  people  in  the  city  are  making  a  living  off  the  farmer.     We 

(29) 


30 

believe  there  are  too  many  middlemen.  We  believe  that  fewer  middlemen 
could  handle  our  foodstuffs  and  make  a  good  living,  perhaps  a  better  living 
than  the  farmers  who  produce  them. 

A  few  years  ago  I  spent  some  time  in  the  Kalamazoo  celery  district. 
I  found  that  a  dozen  plants  of  celery  were  delivered  at  the  packing  house  in 
Kalamazoo  for  ten  cents.  I  found  that  these  packers  were  shipping  to 
State  College,  and  upon  inquiry  at  State  College  I  learned  that  the  retail 
price  was  five  to  ten  cents  a  plant.  In  other  words,  a  single  plant  at 
State  College  was  worth  as  much  as  a  dozen  plants  at  Kalamazoo.  Many 
illustrations  might  be  given  to  show  that  products  often  pass  through  the 
hands  of  three  or  four  men  before  they  reach  the  consumer.  This  condi- 
tion should  be  corrected. 

There  are  transportation  difficulties  and  many  of  them  are  hard  to 
solve.  We  must  have  better  country  roads  everywhere  in  Pennsylvania 
before  the  farmer  can  haul  his  produce  to  market  or  to  the  shipping  station 
in  first-class  condition. 

Thousands  of  bushels  of  apples  went  to  waste  under  the  trees  in  Center 
County  last  fall.  I  presume  one  of  the  main  reasons  for  this  loss  is  the  fact 
that  the  farmers  of  Center  County  are  not  organized.  The  growers  who  had 
a  large  crop  were  not  acquainted  with  Philadelphia  dealers.  Very  few  of 
the  farmers  had  sufficient  apples  to  make  up  carload  lots  and  no  one  was 
sufficiently  interested  to  collect  the  apples  and  make  shipments  in  carload 
lots.  In  this  particular  instance,  it  is  readily  seen  that  a  city  organization, 
which  would  have  furnished  the  necessary  information  to  the  growers 
relative  to  city  buyers,  and  a  rural  co-operative  association,  might  have 
made  it  possible  to  ship  the  apples  at  a  profit. 

The  students  of  the  Department  of  Horticulture  of  the  Pennsylvania 
State  College  have  been  making  some  experiments  in  shipping  tomatoes 
by  parcel  post.  The  best  cardboard  packages  available  were  secured  to 
contain  the  tomatoes.  They  have  been  shipped  to  Philadelphia  as  well  as 
to  other  points  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  In  very  few  instances  have 
the  tomatoes  arrived  in  good  condition.  As  a  rule  they  have  been  more  or 
less  crushed  in  shipment  and  the  juice  has  been  oozing  out  of  them  when 
received.  This  single  experiment  proves  that  the  present  method  of  hand- 
ling perishable  and  easily  injured  products  by  parcel  post  as  now  managed 
is  unsatisfactory.  It  indicates  that  the  postal  authorities  will  find  it  neces- 
sary to  provide  hampers  for  the  handling  of  farm  produce  before  we  can 
expect  satisfactory  results. 

There  is  a  great  diversity  of  opinion  on  the  various  questions  relating 
to  storage  of  farm  products.  All  of  us  are  ready  to  admit  that  there  must 
be  facilities  for  storage,  both  in  the  country  and  in  the  city.  Ample  storage 
facilities  are  essential  to  the  equal  distribution  of  farm  products  throughout 
the  year.  If  we  do  not  have  liberal  storage  facilities,  farm  products  will 
be  dumped  on  the  market  in  great  quantities  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year, 
causing  market  slumps  and  depreciation  in  prices,  which  are  usually 


31 

followed  by  abnormally  high  prices.  The  great  need  then,  so  far  as 
storage  is  concerned,  is  larger  and  better  regulated  houses  for  both  city  and 
country  storage. 

The  question  of  supply  and  demand  deserves  special  consideration 
at  this  time.  We  all  know  that  the  importation  of  certain  important 
foodstuffs  has  increased  greatly  during  the  past  few  years  and  that  our 
exportation  of  important  food  articles  has  decreased.  This  is  a  com- 
paratively new  country  and  yet  we  are  failing  to  feed  our  own  population. 
At  the  present  time  both  corn  and  beef  are  being  imported  from  South 
America;  while  our  own  country  and  our  own  State  of  Pennsylvania  are 
pre-eminently  adapted  to  the  production  of  corn  and  beef.  We  have 
hundreds  of  acres  of  land  in  Pennsylvania  which  are  practically  non- 
productive and  which  might  provide  excellent  grazing  for  large  numbers  of 
cattle  and  sheep.  The  Pennsylvania  State  College  is  very  much  interested 
in  the  problem  of  increased  beef  production  in  this  state.  A  large  herd 
of  registered  beef  cattle  is  maintained  at  the  College  with  the  idea  of 
determining  the  cost  of  breeding  and  raising  beef  cattle  in  Pennsylvania. 
We  believe  that  it  is  possible  for  this  state  to  compete  successfully  with 
the  West,  provided  the  most  approved  and  economical  methods  are 
employed. 

Both  city  and  farm  wastes  are  enormous.  You  will  notice  that  I  said 
city  as  well  as  farm  wastes.  We  hear  a  great  deal  about  country  wastes. 
It  seems  that  almost  everyone  you  meet  in  the  city  has  something  to  say 
about  the  wastes  of  the  country.  They  declare  that  the  owners  of  rural 
properties  are  not  using  their  lands  as  they  should;  that  they  are  not 
properly  conserving  soil  fertility;  that  they  are  not  utilizing  their  crops 
to  the  best  advantage.  Most  of  our  farmers  are  willing  to  admit  their 
wastefulness,  but  we  should  also  take  into  account  in  connection  with  the 
high  cost  of  living  the  enormous  waste  of  the  cities.  How  about  the  milk- 
men who  chase  down  the  city  alleys  every  morning,  dozens  of  them  perhaps, 
when  three  or  four  wagons  might  deliver  the  milk  in  the  same  territory 
at  a  very  much  lower  cost?  There  is  also  an  enormous  waste  in  the  delivery 
of  groceries  in  the  city.  How  about  the  consumer  who  'phones  to  his 
grocer  and  asks  for  a  quarter  of  a  peck  of  apples  or  potatoes  to  be  delivered 
at  his  residence  several  miles  away?  Who  pays  for  this  heavy  expense? 
You  pay  for  it,  but  the  farmer  gets  most  of  the  blame  for  the  high  cost  of 
living. 

My  attention  has  been  called  to  a  vender's  wagon  which  operates  in 
West  Philadelphia  during  the  fall  and  winter  season.  The  wagon  is 
substantially  built  and  tastefully  painted,  and  the  team,  with  brass- 
trimmed  harness,  is  kept  in  a  city  stable.  Every  morning  two  men 
with  the  team  and  wagon  drive  to  Dock  Street  and  purchase  a  load  of 
apples.  They  then  drive  to  West  Philadelphia  and  the  entire  day  is  spent 
in  peddling  the  load  of  apples.  It  is  seen  at  once  that  the  apples  must  be 
sold  at  a  very  great  advance  of  the  price  paid  on  Dock  Street  in  order  to 


32 

meet  the  wages  of  two  men  and  to  meet  the  expense  of  keeping  the  team 
and  wagon  in  the  city  Uvery  stable.  The  consumers  who  purchase  the 
apples  must  pay,  of  course,  the  excessive  cost  of  distribution,  but  the  apple 
growers  are  in  no  sense  to  blame  for  the  high  cost  of  apples  in  West  Phila- 
delphia. 

Frequently  we  hear  of  a  consumers'  league  which  is  rendering  most 
excellent  service  in  reducing  the  cost  of  living.  This  often  means  the 
elimination  of  a  certain  number  of  middlemen.  In  order  to  accomplish 
this  it  is  necessary  for  residents  to  be  provided  with  ample  and  satisfactory 
storage  facilities.  Every  city  residence  should  have  sufficient  space  to 
store  a  barrel  of  potatoes,  a  barrel  of  apples,  part  of  a  crate  of  celery,  a 
basket  or  two  of  tomatoes,  a  barrel  of  sweet  potatoes  and  other  products 
which  are  enjoyed  by  the  family.  It  would  then  be  possible  to  have  ship- 
ments made  direct  from  the  farm,  or  perhaps  wholesale  houses  could 
deliver  to  the  residences  without  the  products  going  through  the  hands 
of  several  middlemen.  This  is  a  thoroughly  practical  proposition  and 
should  receive  attention  by  city  consumers.  There  is  no  reason  why  every 
new  house  erected  in  the  city  should  not  contain  approved  storage  for  the 
foodstuffs  that  are  used  in  every  home. 

There  is  need  of  a  greater  number  of  rural  co-operative  associations. 
We  can  not  expect  to  realize  the  best  results  from  either  the  city  or  the 
country  man's  standpoint  until  the  producers  are  better  organized.  Co- 
operation, however,  is  impossible  in  any  community  unless  the  people  of 
the  community  want  to  co-operate.  This  is  the  great  trouble  in  most  of 
the  rural  sections  of  Pennsylvania.  Our  people  have  not  learned  the  real 
value  of  co-operation.  There  is  also  need,  of  course,  as  previously  indicated, 
of  city  organizations  which  may  be  linked  with  the  country  organizations. 
Our  farmers  want  to  know  where  to  sell  and  the  city  consumers  want  to 
know  where  to  buy.  I  am  well  acquainted  with  many  reliable  growers  of 
apples  in  Pennsylvania  who  would  like  to  do  business  direct  with  consumers 
in  Philadelphia.  When  such  growers  inquire  of  my  office  at  State  College 
regarding  consumers  in  Philadelphia  who  would  like  to  buy  direct  from  the 
farm,  we  are  unable  to  give  them  this  information.  You  see  at  once  the 
need  of  city  organizations  which  will  link  with  the  country  organizations. 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  function  of  the  city  organization  will  be  largely 
an  informational  bureau,  which  will  be  welcomed  by  farmers  who  desire 
to  do  business  in  the  city. 

There  must  be  increased  production  in  Pennsylvania.  The  need  in 
order  to  secure  increased  production  is  not  more  farmers  but  better  farmers. 
We  want  more  farmers  who  are  able  to  grow  30  bushels  of  wheat  to  the 
acre  instead  of  15  bushels.  We  want  more  farmers  who  average  75  bushels 
of  shelled  corn  to  the  acre  instead  of  35.  We  want  more  potato  growers 
who  can  produce  from  200  to  300  bushels  of  potatoes  to  the  acre  instead  of 
100.  We  want  more  poultrymen  who  are  able  to  produce  150  eggs  per 
year  instead  of  100.     In  other  words,  better  farming  on  lands  now  culti- 


33 

vated  will  materially  increase  production  and  also  the  products  might  be 
sold  at  a  lower  figure  and  the  profits  of  the  producers  will  be  materially 
increased. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  large  numbers  of  city 
boys  are  studying  agriculture  at  the  various  agricultural  colleges  of  the 
country.  A  survey  was  made  last  year  of  the  students  in  the  School  of 
Agriculture  at  the  Pennsylvania  State  College  and  it  was  found  that 
70  out  of  every  100  boys  at  State  College  had  entered  from  towns  and 
cities  of  the  state.  In  other  words,  three-fourths  of  the  students  study- 
ing agriculture  at  State  College  are  town  and  city  bred  boys.  This  fact 
is  significant  and  it  indicates  that  there  is  a  real  "  back-to-the-land " 
movement  in  Pennsylvania. 

There  is  need  of  more  economic  production  in  Pennsylvania.  Thou- 
sands of  farmers  are  spending  unnecessary  energy  in  growing  their  staple 
crops.  The  more  skilful  use  of  approved  machinery  will  help  to  solve 
the  labor  problem  of  Pennsylvania  farmers.  Some  farmers  are  able  to 
grow  an  acre  of  corn  with  60  hours  of  human  labor;  while  others  spend 
160  hours  of  labor  per  acre  and  do  not  get  any  better  results.  It  is  seen 
at  once  that  the  more  skilful  use  of  labor  would  mean  time  saved,  which 
might  be  used  in  cultivating  an  additional  area  or  perhaps  in  rest  and 
recreation.  The  statement  is  often  made  that  the  farmer  is  overworked, 
and  this  is  often  the  case,  although  it  is  frequently  due  to  mismanage- 
ment. Uniform  distribution  is  an  exceedingly  important  matter  in 
connection  with  .Pennsylvania  market  conditions.  It  is  a  very  common 
thing  for  a  certain  product  to  be  selling  at  a  very  low  price  in  one  city  and 
at  very  satisfactory  prices  in  cities  three  or  four  miles  away.  Co-operative 
organizations  will  solve  this  problem. 

The  standardization  of  farm  products  in  the  various  communities  of 
the  state  should  not  be  overlooked.  This  is  highly  essential  to  the 
successful  operation  of  a  co-operative  association.  We  need  communities 
which  will  produce  all  white  or  all  brown  eggs;  communities  which  will 
grow  only  two  or  three  varieties  of  apples;  communities  which  will  pro- 
duce certain  garden  products  or  small  fruits.  Such  communities  would 
soon  become  well  known  for  the  high  standard  of  the  products  placed  on 
the  market,  and  would  attract  buyers,  thus  making  it  unnecessary  for 
the  community  to  seek  the  best  markets.  In  this  connection,  regional 
adaptation  is  exceedingly  important.  It  would  be  foolish  to  attempt  to 
produce  apples  in  a  section  which -is  not  adapted  to  apple  culture  or  the 
varieties  selected.  Some  of  our  mountain  sections,  remote  from  the  rail- 
road, are  especially  well  adapted  to  animal  husbandry:  land  is  cheap, 
pasture  grasses  thrive  and  water  is  abundant.  The  stock  could  be  driven 
on  hoof  to  the  nearest  shipping  point.  In  the  hill  sections  of  the  state, 
less  intensive  methods  of  agriculture  should  be  practiced.  There  is  too 
much  of  a  tendency  to  plow  and  cultivate  steep  hillsides  which  are  subject 
to  washing.  These  lands  should  be  put  into  permanent  pasture,  reseed- 
ing  as  often  as  may  be  necessary. 


34 

Our  producers  of  fruits,  vegetables  and  other  farm  crops  should 
learn  how  to  place  the  produce  on  the  market  in  the  most  attractive 
condition.  There  are  tricks  in  all  trades  and  this  applies  to  farming  as 
well  as  to  other  industries.  The  manufacturers  of  toilet  articles,  such  as 
shaving  soap  and  powders,  would  not  be  able  to  show  a  profit  in  this 
business  if  they  exercised  no  more  care  than  many  of  our  farmers  when 
marketing  the  various  foodstuffs.  The  whole  problem  of  putting  up  the 
produce  in  a  more  attractive  form  demands  the  most  careful  considera- 
tion. I  reniember  the  time  when  all  the  oatmeal  sold  in  country  stores 
was  put  up  in  kegs  and  barrels.  The  manufacturers  have  since  learned 
that  it  is  more  convenient  and  that  the  oatmeal  sells  better  when  put  up 
in  attractive  packages.  An  extensive  grower-  of  potatoes  at  Norfolk  has 
learned  that  he  is  able  to  sell  his  potatoes  at  a  higher  price  if  the  hoops 
around  the  barrels  are  painted  red.  A  Long  Island  strawberry  grower 
claims  that  he  gets  two  cents  more  a  basket  by  first  placing  fancy  tissue 
paper  in  the  basket,  which  is  folded  over  top  of  the  baskets  after  they 
have  been  filled  with  berries.  A  sweet-corn  grower  vof  New  York  has 
materially  increased  the  price  received  for  sweet-corn  by  packing  in 
attractive  paper  cartons. 

The  problem  of  placing  food  at  the  door  of  the  consumer  must  be 
solved  very  largely  through  co-operation.  There  must  be  co-operation 
among  the  farmers  of  the  state.  The  institution  which  I  represent  stands 
ready  to  help  the  farmer  in  every  way  that  is  possible.  Our  bulletins 
are  sent  free  to  all  applicants.  The  County  Agent  movement  is  taking 
hold  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  will  probably  be  organized  in  every 
county  of  the  state.  There  is  no  more  efficient  means  of  taking  the 
College  to  the  farmer.  The  College  proposes  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
farmer  by  furnishing  him  the  best  literature  on  farm  topics,  by  holding 
Farmers'  Weeks  and  other  special  meetings,  by  demonstrations,  co-opera- 
tive experiments,  corn  clubs  and  other  club  service,  and  by  the  advice  of 
experts  who  will  visit  farms  upon  request,  and  by  whatever  service  may 
be  necessary  in  order  to  bring  to  the  attention  of  our  producers  the 
information  which  is  needed  for  the  successful  management  of  farms. 

Mrs.  Smith:  We  have  about  ten  minutes.  If  anyone  wants  to 
discuss  Dr.  Watts'  talk,  he  will  be  glad  to  answer  any  question  and  give 
any  help  the  State  College  can  give  on  any  matter  having  to  bear  upon 
his  address. 

Mrs.  D.  C.  Leeds:  I  think  the  fact  that  there  are  not  more  profits 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  farmers  as  a  rule  do  not  think  it  is  necessary 
to  have  the  chickens  picked  just  right  or  the  fruit  packed  right.  There 
is  the  reason  the  farmer  loses. 

Dr.  Watts:  The  lady  has  remarked  that  the  reason  the  farmers  are 
not  more  successful  in  realizing  profits  is  that  as  a  rule  they  do  not  realize 


35 

the  importance  of  picking  the  poultry  or  putting  their  products  on  the 
market  in  a  proper  condition;  they  feel  the  people  in  the  city  do  not 
demand  that.     There  is  therefore  need  for  co-operation  along  that  line. 

Mrs.  H.  M.  Garrett:  As  a  farmer,  I  do  not  have  much  to  sell,  but 
I  ioxmd  out  this  thing  about  the  asparagus  business:  When  the  stalks 
are  the  same  size  all  the  way  through  the  bunch,  you  can  get  a  great  deal 
better  price,  but  when  there  are  smaller  stalks  in  the  bunch,  they  do  not 
get  the  price.  The  same  way  with  eggs.  If  you  send  eggs  of  uniform 
color  and  size,  you  can  get  a  better  price,  but  if  they  are  mixed  up  you  do 
not  get  the  same  price.  It  is  just  the  same  with  potatoes  or  apples  or 
anything  else  that  you  are  apt  to  sell. 

Mrs.  Smith:  Mr.  Critchfield,  the  secretary  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Department  of  Agriculture,  is  here,  and  I  will  call  on  him  to  give  us  a 
few  minutes  talk  today. 

Mr.  Critchfield:  I  think  you  are  taking  advantage  of  my  youth. 
I  do  not  think  I  can  say  anything  except  to  express  my  gratification  at 
being  here  and  to  say  that  I  have  listened  to  the  address  with  a  great 
deal  of  pleasure.  I  am  delighted  to  be  here  and  glad  to  see  that  the 
people  in  the  cities  are  waking  up  and  taking  an  interest  in  this  important 
question.  The  farmers  want  some  co-operation  along  this  line,  and  I  am 
glad  to  know  that  the  day  is  coming  when  they  are  going  to  get  it.  I 
shall  not  detain  you  by  any  further  remarks. 

Mr.  Calwell:  The  meeting  this  afternoon  will  be  held  hi  Wither- 
spoon  Hall.  All  the  other  meetings  of  the  conference  will  be  held  in 
this  same  chamber,  except  on  Saturday  afternoon,  which  is  a  meeting 
for  bankers.  All  the  other  meetings  are  open  for  the  public.  The  Corn 
Show  is  at  the  Bourse,  which  is  a  building  which  runs  from  Fourth  to  Fifth 
Street  between  Chestnut  and  Market.  I  assure  you  every  one  of  these 
meetings  will  be  just  as  interesting  as  the  one  that  we  have  had  this 
mornmg.  Every  speaker  has  been  picked  out  because  he  represents  a 
definite  idea. 

[The  meeting  adjourned  until  2  o'clock  p.  m.] 


Afternoon  Session,  Thursday,  December  4,  1913,  2  o'Clock. 
WiTHERSPOON  Hall. 


Honorary  Chairman,  Antonio  Sans,  Esq.,  President,  Commercial 
Exchange. 

Mr.  Sans:  It  is  an  honor,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  to  preside  tem- 
porarily over  this  meeting.  The  honor  is  tantamount  to  the  pleasurable 
duty  that  I  am  to  discharge.  In  the  year  1912,  from  an  acreage  of 
107,083,000  we  raised  3,124,746,000  bushels  of  corn.  If  the  same  acreage 
had  been  made  to  produce  three  bushels  more  to  the  acre  it  would  have 
given  us  over  three  bushels  per  capita  of  the  population  of  our  country. 

Agriculture  is  a  subject  which  ought  to  be  in  the  minds  of  every 
citizen  of  this  country.  The  present  generation  may  not  suffer,  but  our 
posterity,  unless  we  take  means  to  increase  the  production  and  to  edu- 
cate the  people  who  inhabit  the  cities  in  their  development  and  growth, 
will  feel  the  pinch  of  poor  crops.  Our  population  increases  at  the  rate  of 
over  twenty  million  every  decade.  It  will  not  be  a  very  long  period 
before  we  shall  have  two  hundred  million  inhabitants  in  this  country, 
instead  of  one  hundred  million,  or  nearly  so,  that  we  have  today.  Think 
of  it,  gentlemen!  What  a  subject  this  is!  I  think  that  it  is  paramount 
to  any  that  has  come  before  the  American  people  for  many  and  many 
a  year. 

In  the  year  1909  there  were  landed  in  the  port  of  Philadelphia  about 
twenty-five  thousand  immigrants.  Of  this  number,  but  fifteen  hundred 
went  to  the  country.  The  rest  remained  in  Philadelphia.  Think  of  it, 
gentlemen!  They  remained  so  as  to  become  consumers.  We  don't  want 
consumers.  We  want  producers.  We  want  to  bring  the  producers  to  the 
point  where  they  can  supply  the  consumers.  The  effort  must  be  made,  be 
it  strenuous  or  otherwise,  to  get  these  people  who  center  in  our  cities  to 
go  to  the  country,  to  farms.  In  order  to  do  that,  we  must  make  farming 
life  more  easy  and  pleasurable.  There  ought  to  be  a  movement  started 
to  make  the  farmer  comfortable  on  his  own  farm  through  means  of  enter- 
tainment and  means  of  libraries  and  other  means  that  would  make  his 
life  an  easier  one. 

The  gentlemen  who  have  undertaken  this  corn  show  and  conference 
are  entitled  to  our  thanks.  The  present  ofl^cials  and  board  of  directors 
of  the  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank  are  entitled  to  our  sincere  thanks 
for  having  given  momentum  to  the  movement. 

(36) 


37 

May  I  refer  to  an  incident  which  I  read  in  a  sHp  today  in  a  newspaper 
in  the  City  of  Philadelphia  stating  that  a  magazine  called  the  Banker 
Farmer  has  begim  its  career  as  a  monthly  magazine — this  month,  I  believe. 
The  effort  is  to  establish  better  relationship  between  the  controllers  of 
the  credit  of  the  nation  in  the  interest  of  those  who  create  and  need  credit. 
I  think  that  is  a  movement  in  the  right  direction,  but  if  we,  individually, 
do  not  put  forth  all  our  efforts  toward  making  this  movement  a  success 
it  will  avail  but  little. 

I  am  deeply  interested  in  this  movement,  gentlemen.  The  com- 
mercial body  I  represent  and  over  which  I  have  the  honor  to  preside, 
handles  generally  com,  wheat,  oats,  flour  and  everything  that  pertains 
to  cereals.  There  is  not  any  trouble  about  the  marketing.  We  can  take 
care  of  that.  The  steamship  lines  are  adequate,  and  when  they  are  not, 
tramp  steamers  come  in  and  take  their  place.  Our  exchange  gets  informa- 
tion from  all  over  the  world,  with  quotations,  and  ever>i:hing  is  ready 
to  be  marketed  when  we  once  get  it.  So  the  marketing,  in  my  opinion, 
is  not  as  essential  as  teaching  our  agriculturists  how  to  raise  more  and 
better  products. 

I  have  seen  corn  at  the  Philadelphia  Exchange  today,  or  rather,  at 
the  Corn  Show  in  the  Bourse  Building,  that  could  not  be  beat.  I  have 
seen  ears  of  com  there  that  could  not  be  improved  upon.  There  was  not 
the  waste  of  that  much  space  where  I  could  even  put  the  end  of  a  pin  in. 
Not  a  bit  of  waste.  It  was  just  as  full  at  the  head  as  it  was  at  the  end  of 
the  ear.  That  is  the  thing  that  tells.  That  is  what  we  want  to  encourage. 
We  want  to  encourage  these  people  to  select  their  seed,  and  if  they  plant 
good  seed,  outside  of  weather  changes  and  weather  conditions,  we  are 
bound  to  raise  good  com. 

I  do  not  want  to  detain  you  further.  I  vnW  now  turn  you  over  to 
Mrs.  Smith,  who  will  act  as  permanent  chairman.  I  take  pleasure  in 
introducing  Mrs.  Smith.     [Applause.] 

Mes.  Smith  :  The  next  speaker  on  the  programme  is  Mr.  C.  L.  Logan, 
who  is  in  charge  of  the  farm  bureau  of  the  Binghamton  Chamber  of 
Commerce.  Many  of  you  know  that  this  piece  of  work  is  undertaken  by 
the  Delaware  and  Lackawanna  Railroad,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of 
Binghamton,  the  State  College  of  New  York,  and  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  of  the  United  States;  but  the  pioneer  work,  so  far  as  is  known 
in  this  country,  is  the  undertaking  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.  The 
story  of  the  inception  of  that  work  and  of  its  present  state  of  progress  will 
be  told  to  you  by  Mr.  Logan.  I  take  pleasure  in  introducing  Mr.  Logan, 
of  Binghamton,  in  charge  of  the  farm  bureau  of  the  Chamber  of  Conunerce. 
[Applause.] 


CITY  TRADE  BODIES  AND  AGRICULTURE. 


C.  L.  Logan, 
Secretary,  Binghamton  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Binghamton,  N.  Y. 


There  cannot  be  any  doubt  in  the  minds  of  men  who  have  given  the 
question  of  agricultural  conditions  in  the  States  any  consideration  as  to 
the  advisibility  of  making  an  earnest  attempt  to  improve  those  conditions 
and  to  give  the  tillers  of  the  soil  every  encouragement  possible  to  make 
their  yields  greater. 

We  have  here  a  problem  which  year  by  year  takes  on  an  increased 
importance,  for  in  it  are  bound  up  the  prosperity,  the  happiness,  the  exist- 
ence of  our  nation.  The  farm  is  truly , the  basis  of  human  life;  all  the  vast 
enterprises  of  men  have  their  beginnings  in  the  food  which  the  soil  supplies, 
and  progress  is  hampered  or  accelerated  by  the  forces  which  decrease  or 
increase  agricultural  productiveness. 

History  shows  us  again  and  again  the  truth  that  a  nation's  political 
stability  as  well  as  its  economic  growth  is  founded  upon  its  soil  and  the 
use  made  of  it.  It  is  imperative  that  our  people  turn  to  the  lessons  of 
history,  study  them  carefully  and  seek  for  remedies  to  overcome  them,  for 
as  yet  we  have  not  learned  to  evade  them. 

Men  of  vision,  particularly  those  who  have  studied  these  lessons,  see 
the  peril  and  warn  against  it.  Guglielmo  Ferrero,  in  a  masterly  study  of 
the  Roman  Empire's  fall,  points  this  parallel:  ^'In  no  country  is  this 
condition  more  apparent  than  in  the  United  States.  What  nation  might 
more  easily  be  borne  along  by  the  marvelous  abundance  of  its  treasures? 
It  lacks  neither  territory,  nor  capital,  nor  labor.  Yet  in  no  country  of 
Europe  are  the  wails  over  costliness  so  loud  and  so  common  as  in  the 
United  States.  Why?  Because  in  America  the  disproportion  between 
the  progress  of  the  fields  and  that  of  the  cities,  between  that  of  industries 
and  that  of  agriculture,  is  still  greater  than  in  Europe." 

We  have  men  and  women  of  vision  here  in  America,  many  of  them, 
who  are  studying  these  conditions  and  helping  each  in  his  or  her  small  or 
large  way  to  solve  them.  I  am  not  going  to  attempt  to  go  over  the  field 
and  name  any  individuals,  but  wish  to  speak  to  you  from  the  viewpoint 
and  activities  of  the  city  business  man.  The  mere  fact  that  you  have 
gathered  here  in  Philadelphia  to  discuss  these  conditions  shows  an  awaken- 
ing on  the  part  of  your  business  man  for  the  need  of  an  intelligent  co- 
operation between  the  city  man  and  his  country  brother  in  meeting  the 
problems  of  country  life  and  an  increasing'  interest  in  the  possibilities  of 

(38) 


39 

that  life.  To  my  mind  the  fact  that  our  men  actively  engaged  in  commercial 
pm'suits  are  now  anxious  to  study  agricultural  conditions  and  help  solve 
the  problems  there  presented,  is  one  of  the  most  helpful  signs  of  the  times 
in  which  we  live.  Because  I  believe,  regardless  of  the  splendid  work  of  our 
Agricultural  Department  in  Washington,  and  state  agricultural  depart- 
ments, and  agricultural  colleges,  and  our  experimental  stations,  we  need 
the  viewpoint  and  the  initiative  of  the  business  man  and  his  co-operation 
is  bound  to  be  very  helpful  in  giving  to  those  various  agencies  his  advice 
and  in  carrying  to  them  his  enthusiasm  in  meeting  and  working  out  large 
problems. 

Now  as  to  one  of  the  methods  lately  employed  to  raise  the  standard 
of  the  business  of  farming;  and  right  here  I  wish  to  say  if  any  of  you  have 
an  idea  that  farming  is  not  a  business,  disabuse  yourself  of  that  conception, 
for  the  elements  that  go  to  make  the  successful  farmer  are  those  found  in 
the  life  of  the  successful  merchant,  professional  man  or  manufacturer. 

I  presume  you  wish  to  have  from  me  a  brief  resume  of  the  "  Binghamton 
Idea,"  not  that  we  were  the  originators  of  the  Farm  Bureau  Idea,  but  so 
called  by  the  Department  hi  Washington  because  the  Binghamton  Chamber 
of  Coromerce  was  the  first  commercial  organization  to  co-operate  with  the 
other  agencies  in  the  field  and  lend  its  financial  and  active  support. 

The  Binghamton  Chamber  of  Commerce,  like  similar  organizations, 
had  until  two  years  ago  occupied  itself  with  efforts  to  make  Binghamton 
a  better  place  to  live  and  do  business  in.  To  locate  new  industries,  to 
develop  local  industries,  to  assist  employers  in  getting  labor,  to  develop 
the  trade  of  local  merchants,  wholesale  and  retail,  to  secure  cheaper  and 
better  transportation  facilities;  all  with  the  object  of  making  Binghamton 
a  larger  and  more  prosperous  city.  With  this  programme  we  believed  our 
activities  complete. 

A  little  over  two  years  ago  the  secretary  of  our  commercial  organization 
and  a  few  of  its  members  began  to  realize  the  importance  of  developing 
the  territory  tributary  to  Binghamton.  Only  the  most  casual  observation 
was  necessary  to  convince  us  the  organization  was  neglecting  the  most 
important  industry  upon  which  the  prosperity  of  Biaghamton  depended 
— ^the  industry  of  farming,  which  gave  employment  to  more  people  in  the 
territory  tributary  to  Binghamton  than  any  other  mdustry  or  group  of 
industries  in  the  city,  and  needed  our  careful  consideration. 

Upon  investigation  one  of  the  appalling  conditions  discovered  was 
the  fact  that  the  population  of  the  entire  section,  exclusive  of  the  cities 
and  growing  villages,  was  less  in  1895  than  its  recorded  population  in  1865. 
To  a  commercial  secretary  nothing  is  so  serious,  nothing  counts  so  much  as 
population. 

It  only  required  a  presentation  of  these  facts  to  the  Board  of  Directors 
of  our  Chamber  of  Commerce  to  have  them  authorize  the  appointment 
of  a  special  committee  to  iavestigate  this  subject  and  to  report  back  its 
findings  with  recommendations  as  to  the  action  which  should  be  taken  by 


40 

our  organization.  Only  two  members  of  the  Binghamton  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce were  appointed  as  members  of  this  committee,  a  wholesale  grocer 
and  a  producer  of  certified  milk.  Three  other  members  were  selected  from 
the  adjacent  farming  sections,  men  who  were  known  as  successful  farmers, 
one  a  general  farmer,  one  a  truck  farmer  and  one  a  leader  in  the  Grange. 

This  committee  took  some  time  to  work  out  what  seemed  to  them  the 
best  solution  of  the  problems  presented.  This  committee  found  a  great 
need  of,  first,  an  application  of  sound  business  methods;  second,  a  more 
general  use  of  the  practical  results  of  scientific  experimentation.  They 
found  much  work  already  being  done  in  the  field  by  the  U.  S.  Department 
of  Agriculture,  our  state  department,  our  agricultural  colleges  and  experi- 
mental stations.  In  some  instances  duplication  of  work  was  evident  and 
in  nearly  all  instances  the  field  men  were  attempting  to  cover  four,  five  or 
more  counties  and  it  was  clearly  evident  it  was  impossible  for  one  man  to 
do  efficient  work  unless  his  territory  was  restricted  so  he  might  get  in  per- 
sonal touch  with  the  man  tilling  the  soil» 

One  of  the  first  things  which  suggested  itself  to  the  committee  was  the 
establishment  of  a  demonstration  farm.  It  was  found  at  this  time  the 
Lackawanna  Railroad  was  thinking  of  establishing  such  a  farm  along  its 
lines.  We  immediately  got  in  touch  with  the  Lackawanna  people  and  the 
two  organizations  co-operating  went  so  far  as  to  get  options  on  several 
farms  near  Binghamton  which  could  be  used  for  such  purposes.  When  the 
committee  had  a  meeting  with  Prof.  W.  J.  Spillman,  then  and  now  in  charge 
of  the  office  of  Farm  Management,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  Wash- 
ington, Prof.  Spillman  discouraged  the  demonstration  farm  idea  because 
it  had  not  given  the  results  for  which  it  was  operated,  except  in  a  few 
instances.  Many  would  not  even  come  to  see  the  farm,  a  large  majority 
of  those  who  did  would  say,  "If  I  had  the  money  of  the  government,  the 
state  or  the  railroad  I  could  accomplish  as  good  results."  Instead  of 
encouraging  them  with  possibilities  of  greater  attainments,  they  went  away 
discouraged  by  their  own  handicaps,  feeling  the  things  necessary  for  their 
success  were  out  of  reach. 

Then  too  each  farming  community  already  has  its  demonstration 
farm  because  of  the  successful  operation  by  some  individual. 

At  this  point  the  committee  concluded  to  attempt  to  interest  all  the 
agencies  working  in  the  field  or  interested  in  the  work  to  co-operate  with 
the  Binghamton  Chamber  of  Commerce  with  a  view  of  having  its  farm 
bureau  considered  the  local  agency  through  which  all  the  other  bodies 
would  work.  This  plan  met  with  an  enthusiastic  reception  from  the  officials 
of  all  these  various  agencies.  Secretary  Wilson,  then  the  head  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture,  said,  *'We  have  spent  years  in  inaugurating 
campaigns  of  education,  frequently  entering  territories  where  our  efforts 
were  not  welcomed  by  the  farmers  whom  we  aimed  to  assist.  It  is  indeed 
most  encouraging  to  have  a  community  come  to  us  for  our  co-operation." 
We  now  know  a  large  number  of  people  interested  vitally  in  country  life 


41 

problems  who  believe  this  plan  the  most  effective  ever  devised,  inasmuch  as 
it  advances  the  local  interest  through  its  work  and  financial  support. 

The  next  move  was  for  the  various  bodies  interested  to  sign  an  agree- 
ment covering  the  objects  and  policy  of  the  work  and  the  financial  share  of 
each  necessary  to  carry  it  on.    To  quote  from  the  agreement : 

''The  object  is  to  undertake  propaganda  work  in  the  agricultural 
district  in  the  vicinity  of  Binghamton,  N.  Y.;  to  make  an  agricultural 
survey  of  the  territory;  study  the  farmer's  problems,  find  their  solution  by 
a  study  of  the  practices  of  successful  farmers;  study  the  relations  of  types 
of  farming  to  local  conditions  of  soil,  climate,  markets,  etc.  To  demon- 
strate systems  of  managements  used  by  successful  farmers  in  the  district 
and  conduct  experiments  with  the  farmers,  educational  work  through  the 
media  of  institutes,  etc.,  advising  with  the  farmers  individually  and  other- 
wise as  to  the  best  methods,  crops,  cropping  systems,  stock,  labor,  tools 
and  other  equipment." 

Shortly  after  signing  of  the  agreement  an  agent  was  appointed  to  take 
charge  of  the  work,  and  took  up  his  duties  March  20, 1911.  Since  that  time 
the  work  has  been  going  on  effectively  and  quietly.  In  the  three  years  we 
have  not  revolutionized  the  conditions  as  found  in  the  beginning,  but  we 
have  accomplished  many  things  for  the  betterment  of  country  life  in  our 
section,  and  we  are  arousing  an  enthusiasm  as  to  the  possibilities  of  agricul- 
ture which  is  bound  to  make  its  force  felt  in  the  future.  We  have  never 
had  the  idea  we  could  turn  over  the  old  prejudices  or  tendencies,  or  change 
the  lines  of  thought,  operation  and  management  in  one  year,  three  years  or 
five,  but  we  have  felt  by  steadily  following  certain  lines  of  work  we  would 
eventually  get  the  impression  in  the  mind  of  the  man  whom  we  wished  to 
reach,  of  a  real  enthusiasm  for  his  work  and  its  possibilities  for  himself, 
his  family  and  their  children. 

We  are  today  beginning  to  see  some  of  these  impressions  taking  hold. 
We  can  see  general  evidences  along  certain  lines  of  better  management, 
many  evidences  of  individual  co-operation  which  have  been  successful. 
Our  merchants  in  the  city,  especially  those  dealing  directly  with  the  farmer, 
have  already  felt  the  new  force,  all  showing  the  effectiveness  of  the  work. 

We  have  now  twenty  counties  in  New  York  State  with  Farm  Bureau 
Agents  in  the  field,  all  under  the  able  direction  of  Mr.  Lloyd  S.  Tenny, 
State  Leader.  These  organizations  are  financed  in  different  ways  and  until 
the  present  the  work  too  has  followed  different  lines,  the  local  conditions 
sometimes  making  this  necessary;  and  on  the  other  hand  the  office  of  Farm 
Management  and  the  State  Leader  have  been  groping  to  a  certain  extent 
to  find  the  most  efficient  methods  for  the  farm  agent  to  follow. 

In  the  beginning  our  local  agent's  salary  and  expenses  were  paid  by 
the  U.  S.  Government,  the  Lackawanna  Railroad  and  the  Binghamton 
Chamber  of  Commerce.  These  three  bodies  were  the  active  signers  of 
the  original  agreement,  the  New  York  State  Department  of  Agriculture 
and  the  Agricultural  College,  Ithaca,  agreeing  to  co-operate  whenever 


42 

possible  in  advancing  the  work.  In  1912  the  County  of  Broome  appro- 
priated $1,000  for  the  work  and  this  year  the  State  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture contributed,  so  we  now  have  five  agencies  actively  helping  to  carry 
on  the  work.  The  Chamber  of  Commerce  receives  all  moneys  and  pays  out 
same  on  vouchers,  which  are  regularly  audited  and  the  books  or  accounts 
are  at  all  times  ready  for  the  inspection  of  any  of  the  interested  parties  to 
the  agreement.  The  office  of  Farm  Management  has  charge  of  the  man  in 
the  field  and  he  is  directly  supervised  by  a  State  Leader. 

You  will  notice  in  our  local  organization  the  farmer  was  not  repre- 
sented in  the  agreement  by  any  organization.  Largely  through  the 
experience  and  advice  of  our  State  Leader  we  now  see  this  is  a  mistake 
and  early  in  November  called  a  meeting  of  'farmers  to  perfect  such  an 
organization  among  themselves  which  would  become  a  party  to  the  agree- 
ment and  have  a  representation  on  the  Farm  Bureau  Committee.  Such 
an  organization  was  perfected  and,  while  small  at  present,  we  believe  it 
will  grow  rapidly  and  become  a  vital  force  in  the  work.  I  have  a  copy 
of  the  constitution  and  by-laws  of  the  Farmers'  Organization  with  me  for 
any  one  to  look  over  who  may  be  interested. 

It  took  our  Chamber  of  Commerce  five  years  to  arouse  a  genuine 
widespread  enthusiasm  among  its  members,  the  business  men  of  Bing- 
hamton,  to  a  point  where  they  are  willing  not  only  to  dig  down  into  their 
pockets  for  money,  but  to  give  very  liberally  of  their  time  in  helping 
develop  a  greater  and  more  prosperous  city. 

When  we  started  the  conditions  were  not  more  discouraging  than 
those  confronting  us  in  the  work  of  our  Farm  Bureau.  We  are  hopeful 
of  arousing  the  same  widespread  enthusiasm  over  its  work  and  oppor- 
tunities among  the  farmers  that  we  have  succeeded  in  arousing  among  our 
own  members.  Indications  are  multiplying;  this  enthusiasm  is  gaining 
a  strong  foothold  in  our  county. 

In  the  end  we  will  have  a  city  of  wide-awake,  aggressive  and  pro- 
gressive business  men,  and  Binghamton  will  be  the  center  of  a  farming 
community  of  wide-awake,  aggressive  and  progressive  farmers.  This 
result  will  not  be  accomphshed  by  the  city  man  alone,  nor  by  the  farmers 
alone,  but  the  result  of  both  working  together  for  the  greater  prosperity 
of  the  whole  community. 

Mrs.  Smith:  I  think  you  will  all  agree  that  this  sort  of  movement 
between  the  city  and  country  is  ideal,  and  it  is  a  movement  that  is 
undoubtedly  given  force  as  the  city  dweller  suffers  more  and  more  from 
the  high  cost  of  living. 

I  am  very  glad  that  Mr.  Logan  presented  to  you  in  a  very  clear 
form  exactly  what  they  have  done  and  the  way  they  do  it.  To  me  it 
was  an  interesting  history  and  a  story  that  was  very  dramatic — very 
dramatic  in  the  way  they  discovered  where  they  were  falling  behind  and 
the  way  they  set  about  remedying  it.     I  want  to  say  this  is  only  an 


43 

instance,  and  we  have  duplications  of  these  instances  all  over  the  world, 
for  no  city  can  afford  to  go  along  in  its  career  without  taking  an  account 
of  stock  as  to  its  environment  and  find  out  whether  the  situation  is  really 
a  wholesome  one  or  not,  or  whether  the  farmers  who  supply  the  city  are 
in  a  discouraged  or  encouraged  state  of  mind;  whether  the  market  condi- 
tions are  what  they  are  cracked  up  to  be;  whether  there  is  something  the 
matter;  if  there  is  dissatisfaction,  where  is  the  dissatisfaction.  Where 
there  is  unquietness,  naturally  the  inference  is  that  there  is  some  influence 
at  work  that  is  not  wholesome,  either  for  the  producer  or  the  consumer. 
That  is  the  sort  of  thing  Binghamton  inculcated,  and  it  is  for  the  good  of 
everybody  concerned,  and  I  thought  in  presenting  to  you  the  work  of 
this  Binghamton  Chamber  of  Commerce  we  could  not  have  possibly 
offered  you  anything  that  was  more  to  the  point  as  regards  the  present 
situation  than  that.  The  thought  that  Ues  back  of  this  afternoon's  pro- 
gramme is,  first  of  all,  the  marketing.  Marketing  is  put  down  as  the  general 
topic,  and  we  are  going  to  have  some  people  here  with  us  who  will  solve 
the  question  of  marketing,  and  we  have  with  us  this  afternoon  two  experts 
on  the  egg  question  and  the  poultry  question.  As  we  all  know,  there  are 
no  two  questions  today  that  occupy  the  public  more. 

We  have  picked  out  to  illustrate  the  question  of  the  handling  of  eggs 
and  the  marketing  of  eggs  a  young  man  who  is  in  charge  of  the  market 
bureau  started  by  Cornell  University  to  benefit  the  farmer,  and  which 
has  given  great  satisfaction  to  the  local  farmers.  Mr.  Benjamin  will  tell 
you  what  they  have  done,  how  they  do  it  and  what  conditions  they  found, 
and  he  will  follow  his  talk  this  afternoon  by  showing  a  few  slides  this 
evening,  as  the  lantern  is  not  here  now.  The  lantern,  unfortunately,  is 
at  City  Hall,  and  he  will  have  a  chance  this  evening  to  show  you  some 
slides  to  illustrate  his  talk.  I  take  pleasure  in  introducing  to  you  Mr. 
E.  W.  Benjamin,  of  Cornell  University,  the  head  of  the  marketing  depart- 
ment, who  will  talk  on  ''Problems  in  Marketing  Eggs."     [Applause.] 


PROBLEMS   IN   MARKETING   EGGS. 


Mr.  E.  W.  Benjamin, 
Department  of  Poultry  Husbandry,  College  of  Agriculture,  Cornell  University. 


Mr.  Ben.jamin:  Madam  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  First  I 
might  say  I  do  not  know  how  to  express  my  appreciation  for  this  oppor- 
tunity of  being  here  today.  I  am  very  glad  to  be  here  at  a  conference  of 
this  sort,  as  this  conference,  it  seems  to  me,  is  one  which  will  really  aid  in 
bringing  the  important  questions  of  distributing  food  products  to  a  focus. 
It  marks  a  very  distinct  stepping  stone  in  improving  many  of  the  chief 
faults  in  our  systems  of  food  handling  and  in  connecting  the  producer 
with  the  consumer  in  a  better  way  than  we  have  been  connecting  them  in 
the  past. 

My  subject  is  '' Problems  in  Marketing  Eggs."  I  consider  that  the 
problem  in  marketing  eggs. is  the  problem  of  making  both  the  consumer 
and  the  producer  better  satisfied.  One  is  just  as  important  as  the  other. 
Both  the  consumer  and  the  producer  should  be  better  satisfied  than  they 
are  at  present  if  we  are  going  to  in  any  way  solve  this  problem  of  market- 
ing eggs,  or  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  problem  of  marketing  any  food  prod- 
uct, since  the  principles  involved  are  always  essentially  the  same. 

I  presume  that  eggs  are  thought  of  about  as  much  as  anything  at 
this  time  of  the  year.  It  happens  once  a  year  that  everybody  thinks  that 
eggs  are  away  out  of  sight  and  it  appears  that  there  is  a  great  deal  more 
trickery  with  the  marketing  of  eggs  than  exists  in  the  marketing  of  other 
products.  Regularly  every  year,  at  this  season  and  a  few  weeks  earlier, 
everybody's  hens  have  stopped  laying.  If  you  go  out  into  the  country 
and  try  to  get  some  fresh  eggs,  you  will  see  how  hard  it  is  to  get  them. 
The  hens  have  stopped  laying  entirely  and  the  farmers  have  not  seen  an 
egg  for  a  long,  long  time.  We  are  now  just  beginning  to  get  fresh  eggs, 
and  in  two  or  three  weeks  the  number  of  fresh  eggs  will  increase  and  the 
price  will  gradually  go  down.  Just  at  this  time,  however,  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  get  fresh  eggs  from  the  American  farming  communities. 
Some  who  speciaUze  in  poultry  farming  do  have  eggs  the  year  round  and 
can  afford  to  properly  take  care  of  the  birds  for  the  purpose  of  supplying 
a  few  consumers,  but  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  fresh  eggs  on  the  gen- 
eral market  at  this  time  of  the  year.  As  a  substitute  we  have  the  cold 
storage  product  or  product  that  has  been  held  for  a  varying  length  of 
time,  coming  in  to  supply  that  need. 

In  making  both  the  producer  and  consumer  better  satisfied,  I  might 
enumerate  the  things  that  the  consumer  wants,  and  the  first  one  of^these 

(44) 


45 

is  lower  price.  No  consumer  wants  to  have  the  prices  any  higher  than 
they  are  at  present.  What  they  want  is  a  lower  pricQ  for  the  product. 
Along  with  lower  prices,  the  consumers  want  better  quality.  They  want 
to  pay  less  for  better  goods,  and  along  with  that  they  want  to  have  the 
marketing  at  least  as  convenient  as  it  is  at  present.  These  are  the  three 
things  they  want:   lower  prices,  better  quahty  and  convenience. 

The  producers,  on  the  other  hand,  are  looking  forward  to  receiving 
higher  prices,  with  the  maximum  degree  of  convenience.  They  are  look- 
ing forward  to  having  higher  prices,  while  the  consumers  are  looking 
forward  to  having  lower  prices.  The  consumer  also  wants  better  quality, 
and  both  want  to  have  things  just  as  convenient  as  they  are  now,  or  more 
convenient  if  possible.  These  then  are  the  factors  that  we  have  to 
consider. 

The  methods  of  attacking  this  problem  which  are  open  to  the  con- 
sumer— and  I  think  most  of  the  people  to  whom  I  am  speaking  today  are 
consumers  or  are  interested  in  the  consumer's  end  of  the  game — are,  first, 
encourage  the  farmers  to  improve  the  method  of  producing  the  product, 
both  by  lowering  its  cost  and  improving  its  quality.  If  the  farmers  could 
produce  their  products  at  less  cost  and  also  produce  better  products,  then 
they  would  really  be  getting  better  pay  for  their  labor  after  all.  If  they 
really  did  not  get  any  more  per  dozen,  but  they  produced  more  dozens  of 
eggs  at  the  same  price  per  dozen,  they  would  be  able  to  make  more  profit 
than  now. 

Thus,  one  method  of  attack  is  simply  by  improved  methods  of  pro- 
duction. You  can  talk  a  long  time  about  improved  methods  of  produc- 
tion. You  can  go  out  among  the  farmers  and  tell  them  that  they  ought 
to  do  this  and  ought  to  do  that,  and  it  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  to 
tell  them  how  much  better  you  could  do  if  you  owned  the  place,  but  you 
have  never  been  in  their  place  probably  and  cannot  appreciate  their 
viewpoint.  If  many  of  us  were  to  put  ourselves  in  their  place,  possibly 
we  could  talk  more  sensibly  than  we  can  now,  and  this  is  probably  the 
reason  that  it  is  so  commonly  said  that  ''you  can  talk  and  talk  and  talk 
to  the  farmer,  and  yet  when  you  go  back  you  will  find  that  the  farmers 
have  not  changed  their  method  a  bit."  No  matter  what  you  tell  them, 
they  will  not  change  their  methods,  because  their  methods  are  better, 
they  say,  and  they  have  been  trying  it  for  a  long  time.  There  is  natu- 
rally competition  among  farmers,  and  we  would  indeed  expect  that  in 
any  certain  community  after  generations  of  experiments,  very  good 
methods  of  farming  have  already  been  adopted.  These  farmers  have 
been  doing  the  same  thing  for  many  years,  and  have  adopted  just  exactly 
what  they  have  thought  to  be  the  best  methods. 

We  have  found  incidentally  that  the  only  way  to  really  change  the 
farmer's  methods  of  production,  the  only  way  to  improve  them  rapidly, 
is  to  actually  show  the  farmer  that  there  is  a  better  method,  if  there  is 
any  such  better  method — actually  show  them  that  there  is  a  better 


46 

method,  either  by  doing  it  ourselves  or  by  getting  them  to  try  it.  So 
what  I  am  going  to  speak  of  this  afternoon  particularly  will  be  the 
co-operative  organization  that  we  have  started  at  Ithaca,  in  connection 
with  the  New  York  State  College  of  Agriculture,  by  means  of  which  we 
have  to  some  extent  shown  farmers  better  methods  of  marketing  their 
products,  and  we  have  hoped  not  only  to  show  them  that,  but  also  to 
show  them  how  to  produce  better  products  than  they  were  producing, 
and  the  results  have  been  phenomenal. 

We  have  been  talking  to  the  farmers  around  Ithaca  for  a  long,  long 
time — sent  speakers  out  to  them,  and  they  have  not  changed  much. 
Then  we  started  this  organization  and  attempted  to  handle  the  products 
for  the  farmers,  and  showed  them  that  we  could  get  more  money  for  their 
fresh  eggs  than  we  could  for  their  stale  eggs.  Previously  we  had  told 
them  that  fresh  eggs  were  worth  more  than  stale  eggs,  but  that  did  not 
make  any  difference  when  they  could  get  as  much  for  a  stale  egg  as  they 
could  for  a  fresh  egg;  but  when  we  took  their  eggs  and  returned  to  them 
a  check  at  the  rate  of  sixty  cents  a  dozen  for  their  fresh  eggs  and  only 
forty  cents  for  eggs  which  they  had  held  over  from  the  week  before,  then 
the  next  week  nearly  every  egg  received  was  fresh.  That  is  the  way  to 
get  them  interested  and  that  is  what  we  have  been  endeavoring  to  do 
around  Ithaca. 

I  will  pass  on,  first,  with  another  method  of  attack,  and  then  return 
more  definitely  to  this  co-operative  association.  After  improving  the 
method  of  the  production  of  the  products,  we  have  then  to  deal  with  the 
method  of  the  distribution  of  these  products,  or  carrying  of  the  products, 
just  as  we  find  them,  from  the  farmer  to  the  consumer.  I  will  be  able  to 
take  this  up  a  little  better  with  the  lantern  slides,  but  I  might  say  that 
the  closer  we  can  get  the  consumer  to  the  producer,  the  better  off  they 
both  are.  When  we  have  the  producer  over  here  and  the  consumer  away 
over  there,  we  are  not  going  to  improve  the  quahty  of  these  eggs  and  this 
produce  by  carrying  them  from  this  producer  over  to  the  consumer. 
The  farther  off  the  consumer  is,  the  poorer  the  quality  will  be  by  the  time 
the  produce  reaches  him.  We  also  know  that  we  are  not  going  to  carry 
this  produce  over  there  for  nothing.  We  have  got  to  charge  something 
for  that  work.  The  farther  off  a  consumer  is  the  more  it  is  going  to  cost 
to  get  the  produce  to  him.  If  we  can  get  the  consumer  closer  to  the 
producer  in  any  possible  way,  the  better  will  be  the  quality  of  the  pro- 
duce which  the  consumer  will  receive  and  the  lower  will  be  the  price  that 
he  will  have  to  pay  for  it.  That,  on  the  face  of  it,  seems  like  cutting  out 
the  middleman.  We  have  heard  a  lot  about  that,  but  I  do  not  intend  to 
infer  that  we  should  in  any  way  cut  out  all  the  middlemen.  We  think, 
in  a  good  many  cases,  there  are  more  middlemen  than  are  desirable,  but 
under  most  conditions  the  middleman  is  necessary.  If  the  producers  try 
to  send  their  products  to  the  consumers  by  parcel  post  or  by  any  other 
direct  means,  they  would  get  into  a  very  complicated  proposition.     Every 


47 

producer  would  have  to  deal  with  many  consumers  and  every  consumer 
would  have  to  deal  with  several  producers.  There  is  a  method  and  means 
of  organization  whereby  the  consumer  shall  deal  with  a  man  who  under- 
stands their  needs  and  their  wants,  and  then  that  man  shall  deal  with  the 
producers.  I  shall  be  able  to  show  this  method  better  with  the  lantern 
slides  tonight. 

We  believe,  as  a  rule,  that  some  man  is  needed  between  this  pro- 
ducer, who  just  specializes  in  producing  the  best  stuff  he  can  in  the  cheap- 
est way,  and  this  consumer,  on  the  other  hand,  who  should  endeavor  to 
buy  more  economically  than  he  does  at  the  present  time. 

So  we  go  on  to  the  third  phase  of  this  question,  which  is  a  matter 
of  importance,  and  that  is  the  buying  of  the  product.  That  can  be 
improved.  We  can  make  an  improvement  in  the  methods  of  production, 
methods  of  distribution  and  also  improve  the  methods  of  buying  on  the 
part  of  the  consumers.  The  high  cost  of  living  is  undoubtedly  due  to  a 
great  extent  to  the  extravagant  wants  of  the  consmners,  who  are  becom- 
ing more  and  more  exacting  all  the  time,  and  the  housewife's  problem  is 
that  of  learning  to  buy  more  economically.  They  do  not  buy  the  very 
cheapest  grade  of  eggs  which  they  can  get  and  still  have  eggs  which  are 
suitable  for  their  various  purposes.  The  housewives  do  not  have  to  buy 
strictly  fresh  white  eggs  to  make  cake  with.  They  do  not  have  to  buy 
the  very  bqst  eggs  for  that  purpose.  You  do  not  have  to  have  white  eggs 
instead  of  brown  eggs.  Brown  eggs  are  just  as  good  as  white  eggs.  The 
difference  in  price  between  white  eggs  and  broT\Ti  eggs  in  the  New  York 
market  is  not  based  on  the  relative  quality  of  these  eggs,  as  a  rule,  but 
is  based  on  the  foolish  tastes  of  the  consumers  who  buy  those  eggs  and 
who  are  willing  to  pay  more  for  the  white  eggs;  consequently  there  is 
more  of  a  demand  for  the  white  eggs.  There  is  no  difference  in  the  interior 
quality  of  a  white  egg  and  that  of  a  brown  egg.  The  consumers  of  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  should  use  brown  eggs  instead  of  white  eggs  if 
they  want  to  lower  the  cost  of  living.  It  is  said  among  cold  storage  men 
that  brown  eggs  even  keep  better  in  cold  storage  than  white  eggs.  That 
is  supposed  to  be  due,  I  believe,  to  some  difference  in  the  shell,  but  I 
have  never  been  able  to  find  out  just  why  a  brown  egg  keeps  better  than 
a  white  egg.  If  brown  eggs  are  worth  more  than  white  eggs  for  storage, 
then  they  should  be  higher  in  price  than  white  eggs,  but  that  is  not  the 
case  at  this  time.  It  is  just  the  other  way;  white  eggs  are  higher  and  the 
consumers  have  the  idea  that  the  higher  price  for  white  eggs  indicates 
that  the  white  egg  is  better.  That  is  especially  so  in  New  York  City, 
due  to  the  fact  that  most  of  the  large  farms  around  New  York  City  have 
White  Leghorns  and  other  Mediterranean  breeds  which  produce  white 
eggs,  while  the  majority  of  the  brown  eggs  come  from  the  Middle  West 
and  from  the  South,  where  the  farmers  have  more  of  the  larger  general 
purpose  breeds.  In  Boston  the  brown  egg  usually  brings  more  than  the 
white  egg,  and  this  condition  is  caused  by  a  reversal  of  the  conditions 
around  New  York  City. 


48 

Now,  I  have  given  you  in  substance  the  methods  that  we  have  fol- 
lowed in  attacking  this  problem  of  improving  conditions  in  the  vicinity 
of  Ithaca,  and  I  will  go  into  it  more  fully  later  in  connection  with  what 
we  have  done.  If  any  one  has  any  questions  to  ask  relating  to  this,  I  will 
be  glad  to  have  you  come  back  at  me  as  soon  as  I  am  through. 

The  idea  of  organizing  a  co-operative  association  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  College  of  Agriculture  occurred  to  us,  especially  after  we  had  endeavored 
to  connect  up  the  individual  farmers  with  the  consumers  in  the  larger 
cities.  Very  few  producers  in  the  vicinity  of  Ithaca  had  any  idea  of  how 
to  get  connected  with  the  larger  consumer  or  with  the  city  consumer. 
I  do  not  know  of  any  who  sold  direct  to  the  city  consumers.  I  went 
down  to  New  York,  went  around  visiting^  the.  purchasing  agents  of  many 
of  the  large  hotels.  I  must  have  visited  twenty-five  or  thirty  of  the 
larger  hotels  and  retail  stores.  I  also  visited  Mrs.  Heath  of  the  House- 
wife's League,  and  tried  to  get  in  touch  with  all  the  larger  consumers 
that  I  could,  and  I  told  them  that  we  were  planning  to  connect  them  up 
with  some  producers.  The  first  trouble  with  our  plan  seemed  to  be  that 
we  did  not  have  any  single  farmer  large  enough  to  produce  enough  eggs  to 
supply  any  single  customer.  The  large  consumers  wanted  to  get  a  large 
number  of  eggs,  and  they  wanted  to  be  able  to  depend  on  that  source 
for  a  regular  supply.  Most  of  them  got  eggs  from  some  wholesale  dealer, 
who  could  furnish  a  few  dozens  or  several  cases  per  day.  In  other  words, 
they  were  in  the  habit  of  ordering  daily  just  what  they  wanted.  That 
was  not  only  the  case  with  one,  but  seemed  to  be  very  common,  and 
I  could  see  that  we  had  to  offer  big  inducements  to  get  them  away  from 
their  common  dealers  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  and  influence  them 
to  get  their  eggs  direct  from  the  producers,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  this 
method  would  probably  enable  them  to  get  better  eggs. 

So  I  went  back  to  Ithaca  with  the  idea  of  getting  in  touch  with  bigger 
farmers,  better  products,  and  getting  a  lot  of  the  producers  together.  It 
was  with  that  idea  that  we  started  in. 

I  went  back  and  we  talked  it  over  with  the  farmers  of  the  neighbor- 
hood and  we  tried  to  get  the  farmers  to  organize  with  the  idea  of  getting 
enough  eggs  so  we  could  get  a  certain  trade  established  and  to  hold  this 
trade  by  supplying  it  the  year  round;  during  the  winter  when  the  con- 
sumers were  unable  to  get  eggs  anywhere  else,  as  well  as  during  the  spring 
and  summer  when  eggs  were  very  plentiful.  We  immediately  started 
to  organize  these  farmers.  They  all  realized  that  it  would  be  a  good 
thing  to  do  and  yet  nobody  was  ready  to  make  the  start.  They  did  not 
want  to  go  into  anything  unless  their  neighbors  did.  So  we  set  a  certain 
day  about  the  middle  of  February  and  told  them  that  from  that  time  on 
they  might  bring  their  eggs  to  the  College,  and  the  College  would  look 
after  the  marketing,  and  then  would  return  to  them  all  that  the  eggs  were 
sold  for,  less  the  actual  expense  the  College  had  undergone  in  handling 
them.     This  expense  included  every  operation.     We  did  not  charge  for 


49 

our  energy  spent  as  promoters,  but  we  charged  for  all  the  actual  expense 
of  marketing  the  eggs.  We  hired  special  assistants  to  do  the  candling 
and  grading  of  the  eggs.  We  started  out  by  receiving  only  a  few  cases 
the  first  week  and  we  shipped  those  eggs,  first,  to  a  commission  man. 
We  did  not  have  any  special  trade  established.  This  commission  man 
paid  us  a  cent  above  top  wholesale  quotations.  We  sent  all  the  eggs  that 
were  brought  to  us,  the  best  as  well  as  all  other  grades,  and  then  as  soon 
as  returns  were  received,  we  in  turn  forwarded  to  the  farmers  our  checks, 
simply  taking  out  so  much  per  dozen  for  handUng,  which  amounted  to 
approximately  two  cents  per  dozen,  and  the  farmers  were  getting  one 
and  one-half  or  two  cents  per  dozen  more  than  they  had  been  receiving 
before.  Gradually  the  farmers  began  to  bring  in  more  eggs  and  we  were 
able  to  establish  a  trade  with  some  New  York  hotels  for  the  best  grades. 
This  hotel  trade  gave  us  much  better  returns  for  our  best  grades  of  eggs 
than  the  wholesalers  could,  and  so  from  this  time  on  our  markets  were 
considerably  improved.  This  last  fall  we  have  had  difficulty  again  in 
getting  eggs  enough  to  supply  the  trade,  because  the  farmers  were  not 
in  the  habit  of  trying  to  produce  many  eggs  during  the  winter,  because 
the  price  had  never  risen  over  about  thirty-five  cents  per  dozen,  and  they 
could  not  afford  to  produce  eggs  for  that.  We  had  to  start  sending  out 
wagons  to  collect  eggs  from  the  farmers,  and  it  was  a  difficult  proposition 
to  find  them,  but  we  did  find  a  few  and  the  prices  received  were  away 
beyond  what  the  individual  producers  could  have  obtained  by  them- 
selves for  their  small  lots.  The  last  returns  paid  to  the  farmers  were  at 
the  rate  of  about  sixty-seven  cents  per  dozen  for  the  fancy  white  eggs. 
The  brown  eggs  were  fifteen  cents  less  per  dozen.  Fifteen  cents  per  dozen 
difference  between  white  and  brown  eggs.  Of  course,  it  is  up  to  the  farmer 
to  produce  white  eggs  if  he  can  get  more  for  white  eggs  than  he  can  for 
brown  eggs,  but  the  consumer,  on  the  other  hand,  who  uses  white  eggs 
pays  more  than  she  needs  to  for  the  desired  degree  of  freshness.  Here 
are  two  counterbalancing  forces.  If  we  turn  to  the  consumer  we  should 
advise  him  to  use  brown  eggs,  and  if  we  turn  to  the  producer  we  tell  him 
to  produce  white  eggs  and  he  will  get  a  higher  price  for  them,  and  eventu- 
ally the  prices  of  brown  and  white  eggs  will  be  more  nearly  equal. 

Conservatively  speaking,  the  farmers  who  cared  for  their  products 
were  able  to  average  about  fifty  cents  per  dozen  for  their  eggs,  white  or 
brown,  while  last  year  these  same  farmers  during  the  same  season  of  the 
year  were  not  getting  more  than  thirty  or  thirty-five  cents  for  their  eggs. 
This  year  eggs  are  about  five  cents  higher  than  they  were  last  year,  but 
this  fact  comes  far  from  offsetting  the  advantage  of  organization.  Next 
spring,  if  we  get  for  the  farmers  two  cents  more  per  dozen  than  they 
could  otherwise  have  obtained,  we  can  call  our  work  very  successful. 

The  organization  is  not  binding  on  the  farmers  at  the  present  time. 
We  are  simply  holding  the  farmers  by  reason  of  the  benefits  which  they 
get  from  the  organization.     We  do  not  ask  them  to  become  members  yet, 


50 

but  we  expect  to  get  everything  definitely  organized  in  due  time.  It  is 
not  much  use  asking  farmers  to  become  members  of  an  organization  from 
which  they  are  deriving  no  benefit,  so  we  are  just  asking  them  to  bring 
in  their  eggs  or  send  them  if  they  want  to.  If  they  bring  in  their  eggs,  we 
try  to  sell  them.  If  they  don't  want  to  bring  in  any  eggs  and  are  not 
interested,  we  don't  care. 

As  further  information  relative  to  our  work,  I  will  read  now  from  a 
recent  report  from  the  Poultry  Department  to  the  Director  of  the  College : 

''The  co-operative  marketing  association  project,  organized  during 
the  year  and  which  has  now  been  in  operation  about  seven  months, 
developed  more  satisfactorily  even  than  we  had  anticipated.  The  depart- 
ment has  supervised  the  organization  of  the  Ithaca  Producers'  Associa- 
tion. This  project  is  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  Mr.  E.  W. 
Benjamin,  who  reports  that  the  association  has  been  handling  the  poultry 
and  eggs  produced  by  168  patrons  within  a  radius  of  approximately  ten 
miles  of  Ithaca.  The  number  of  eggs  handled  by  the  association  for  its 
patrons  from  March  1  to  October  1,  1913,  seven  months,  was  31,51 1| 
dozens,  equal  to  1,050  cases  of  thirty  dozens  each,  or  approximately  two 
and  one-half  car  loads.  The  amount  of  poultry  handled  during  the  same 
time  was  6,538 J  lbs.,  or  approximately  three  and  one-quarter  tons.  The 
total  net  returns  to  the  patrons  were  $7,753.86.  It  is  estimated  that  the 
patrons  have  been  aided  in  receiving  about  three  cents  per  dozen  more 
for  their  eggs  and  two  cents  per  pound  more  for  their  poultry  than  they 
would  otherwise  have  been  likely  to  receive;  or,  expressed  in  money 
value,  the  patrons  have  received  about  $130  more  for  their  poultry  and 
$945  more  for  their  eggs,  or  a  total  of  $1,076  more  than  they  would  other- 
wise have  been  able  to  secure  by  the  usual  methods.  This  increase  in 
profits  is  due,  primarily,  to  greater  care  in  testing,  grading  and  packing, 
which  has  resulted  in  higher  prices  being  received.  The  educational 
value  of  the  project  is  a  stimulus  to  greater  production  of  a  better  quality 
of  poultry  and  eggs.  More  systematic  care  and  accounting  is  of  even 
greater  advantage  to  the  patrons  than  the  increase  in  their  net  profits, 
due  to  the  sales.  The  project  is  of  benefit  not  only  to  the  producer,  but 
also  to  the  consumer,  and  has  resulted  in  securing  close  co-operation 
with  persons  who  otherwise  might  not  be  in  touch  with  the  college." 

This  educational  feature  is  one  of  our  strong  points.  At  certain 
intervals  we  send  out  circulars  to  these  farmers  telling  them  how  to 
market  their  products,  at  what  particular  time  to  sell;  how  to  pack  their 
poultry  when  they  bring  it  up  for  sale;  how  to  keep  their  eggs;  that  is, 
in  a  cool  or  rather  moist  place;  not  to  allow  the  eggs  to  heat  nor  to  get 
chilled;  not  to  allow  the  male  birds  to  be  with  the  laying  hens,  and  many 
other  timely  suggestions. 

The  fertile  egg  is  probably  one  of  the  greatest  troubles  we  have  at  the 
present  time  in  the  handling  of  market  eggs.  The  germ  of  the  fertile  egg 
will  start  to  develop  at  a  temperature  of  about  72°  Fahrenheit,  and  if 


61 

kept  for  a  very  long  period,  it  will  rapidly  decompose.  The  fertile  egg  is 
very  undesirable  for  use  as  a  market  product.  We  tell  the  farmers  of 
these  things  and  help  them  to  decide  which  breed  to  pick  out,  if  they  are 
going  to  enlarge  their  poultry  business,  and  they  appreciate  the  informa- 
tion. They  realize  that  if  they  do  not  produce  the  right  sort  of  products, 
they  cannot  demand  a  high  price  for  it. 

We  believe  that  the  association  is  working  on  a  fairly  efficient  basis. 
Of  course,  just  as  soon  as  we  have  a  co-operative  organization,  there  is  a 
tendency  for  the  operator  to  use  less  efficient  methods  than  he  will  if  it 
is  his  own  private  enterprise. 

One  of  the  great  drawbacks  in  getting  an  organization  started  is 
that  when  many  men  are  banded  together,  responsibility  is  liable  to  rest 
upon  no  one  person  and  the  efforts  become  slackened.  In  my  work  with 
this  association  I  have  found  that  the  margin  of  profit  between  the  pro- 
ducer and  the  wholesaler  is  usually  very  small.  There  is  not  such  a  large 
margin  of  profit  as  is  often  represented.  There  are  many  producers  who 
have  enough  eggs  so  that  the  benefits  of  co-operation  are  very  slight  and 
they  are  able  to  send  their  eggs  direct  to  the  consumers.  They  have 
enough  products  to  send  direct  to  the  hotel  or  large  consumer,  and  it  is 
not  our  purpose  to  handle  them  now.  We  just  handle  the  products  from 
the  smaller  producer,  and  if  he  does  not  have  enough  to  send  to  us  direct 
we  collect  them  with  many  others  and  thereby  save  the  countless  delays 
occurring  when  the  eggs  pass  through  the  ordinary  "huckster-country 
store"  route.  The  more  producers  who  furnish  products  and  the  more 
produce  they  can  furnish,  the  less  will  be  the  cost  of  handling  and  the 
lower  will  be  the  cost  of  this  produce  to  the  consumer. 

My  time  is  limited,  and  I  will  be  able  to  tell  you  more  about  this 
problem,  with  the  lantern  slides  which  will  be  shown  this  evening. 

Mr.  Felix  Albright:  I  would  like  to  ask  the  rate  of  charge  for  a 
day's  board  at  the  hotel  that  pays  sixty-seven  cents  for  eggs.  What 
would  they  charge  me  a  day  for  a  day's  board  at  that  hotel? 

Mr.  Benjamin:  Of  course,  these  eggs  go  to  one  of  the  largest  hotels 
in  the  city. 

Mr.  Albright:  I  would  like  to  know  the  cost  of  board  for  one  day. 

Mr.  Benjamin:  Of  course,  the  hotel  furnishes  other  services  than 
that  required  in  the  preparation  of  eggs.  While  the  labor  itself  may  be 
nominal,  there  is  a  lot  of  other  things  necessary  in  a  hotel  in  order  to 
satisfy  their  customers. 

Mr.  Herbert  P.  Brown:  I  would  like  to  ask  why  there  is  this 
difference  in  the  price  of  eggs.  You  say  the  farmers  got  thirty  cents  last 
year,  and  this  year  they  got  about  sixty  cents.  What  made  that  dif- 
ference so  much  as  that? 


52 

Mr.  Benjamin:  The  difference  is  due  to  the  fact  that  last  year  the 
farmers  sold  their  eggs  to  country  peddlers,  who  went  around  and  who 
picked  up  the  country  stock,  and  by  the  time  it  got  to  the  wholesale  man 
eggs  were  not  worth  any  more  than  that.  The  farmer  does  not  think  his 
eggs  are  better  this  year  than  last  year.  He  does  not  believe  in  holding 
his  eggs,  and  disposing  of  them  promptly;  they  are  of  a  better  quality, 
and  that  is  the  reason  they  are  getting  greater  prices.  The  improved 
manner  of  distribution  in  getting  these  eggs  from  the  farmer  to  the 
market  is  the  reason  he  is  getting  more. 

Mr.  Brown  :  Is  it  a  fact  that  in  Boston  brown  eggs  are  worth  more 
than  white  eggs,  and  a  man  there  pays  as  much  for  brown  eggs  as  a  New 
Yorker  pays  for  white  eggs? 

Mr.  Benjamin:  That  is  a  fact;  he  pays  about  five  cents  more  for 
brown  eggs  than  for  white  eggs.  That  is  due  to  the  fact  that  around 
Boston  they  have  more  hens  laying  brown  eggs.  The  product  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  Boston  is  usually  brown  eggs. 

Mr.  John  J.  Macdonald  :  I  was  very  much  interested  in  the  address 
of  Mr.  Benjamin,  and  he  brought  out  something  I  am  very  much  inter- 
ested in,  and  that  is  the  middleman.  I  happen  to  be  one  of  those  who 
have  been  robbing  the  people  for  the  last  thirty  or  forty  years,  according 
to  the  newspapers.  I  am  glad  to  see  the  Agricultural  Department  of 
New  York  is  back  of  our  plan  and  standing.  Up  for  us.  Another  thought 
has  been  brought  to  our  minds  and  that  is,  that  the  agricultural  colleges 
of  New  York  are  authorizing  their  customers  to  ask  sixty-six  cents  a 
dozen  for  eggs,  and  Mr.  Benjamin  says  he  was  down  in  New  York  and 
consulted  with  Mrs.  Heath.  The  other  day  I  saw  an  interview  in  the 
World  of  New  York,  in  which  she  said  she  only  got  thirty  cents  a  dozen 
for  eggs.  There  is  some  discrepancy  here  somewhere.  Mr.  Benjamin 
has  made  the  best  argument  for  the  middleman  I  have  ever  heard  made. 
The  middleman  will  be  here  with  us  when  you  and  I  are  in  our  graves. 
You  can't  do  without  him.  I  will  say  right  now  that  this  thing  has  gone 
on  until  the  people  begin  to  believe  that  the  man  between  was  getting 
eight  or  ten  or  fifteen  cents  a  dozen  profit  on  eggs,  and  now  we  have  Mr. 
Benjamin  declaring  that  the  farmer  gets  it  all. 

Mr.  Benjamin:  I  think,  perhaps,  you  may  have  misunderstood  me. 
I  told  you,  in  the  first  place,  that  I  beheve  the  middleman  is  necessary 
to  connect  up  the  producer  with  the  consumer.  What  we  have  done  is 
simply  to  get  the  producers  together,  and  in  this  particular  we  are  in  the 
shape  of  middlemen.  These  people  are  not  large  producers,  but  we  get 
enough  together  in  order  to  be  able  to  send  enough  eggs  direct  to  the 
wholesale  dealer  or  large  consumer. 

Mrs.  Smith:  I  do  not  want  to  interfere  with  this  discussion,  but  the 
next  speaker  on  this  afternoon's  programme  will  speak  on  the  question  of 


53 

poultry,  and  that  is  something  we  are  very  much  interested  in.  I  am  not 
as  personally  acquainted  with  him  as  with  Mr.  Benjamin,  but  I  have 
known  so  much  of  Mr.  Opperman,  and  his  wonderful  work,  and  I  have 
read  so  much  of  his  work  in  the  country,  that  I  consider  him  one  of  the 
greatest  specialists  on  the  subject  he  is  going  to  talk  about.  He  lives 
at  Three  Oaks  Villa,  Berwyn,  Md.,  and  there  isn't  a  question,  from  the 
number  of  notches  there  should  be  in  a  White  Leghorn's  comb  to  the 
kind  of  eggs  that  a  White  Leghorn  or  Plymouth  Rock  should  produce, 
that  he  can't  answer.  It  is  a  question  that  he  is  familiar  with  and  I  take 
pleasure  in  introducing  to  you  Mr.  Charles  L.  Opperman,  who  will  now 
speak  to  us.     [Applause.] 


PROBLEMS  IN  MARKETING  EGGS. 


Charles  L.  OppermaNj 
Berwyn,  Md. 


Madam  Chairman,  Members  of  the  Conference,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 
I  fear  that  your  chairman  has  given  me  a  reputation  which  I  may  find 
rather  hard  to  fulfill.  If  I  knew  all  that  she  claimed  for  me,  I  am  sure  I 
could  entertain  you  in  a  most  satisfactory  manner.  However,  even 
though  I  cannot  promise  to  furnish  all  the  information  she  claimed,  I 
shall  attempt  to  leave  with  you  a  few  of  the  vital  points  connected  with 
the  handling  of  the  nation's  egg  supply. 

Before  developing  this  subject  I  wish  to  add  just  a  few  words  to 
what  Prof.  Benjamin  has  had  to  say  concerning  a  co-operative  plan  of 
marketing  eggs  now  in  operation  at  Cornell  University.  Prof.  Benjamin 
has  very  ably  discussed  this  phase  of  marketing  eggs  and  I  may  say,  if 
he  will  permit  me,  that  he  has  presented  the  strongest  argument  I  have 
recently  heard  in  favor  of  the  middleman.  We  have  heard  so  much  dur- 
ing the  past  few  weeks  about  the  terrible  middleman  and  the  cold-storage 
robbers  that  I  am  really  almost  afraid  to  express  myself  on  the  subject. 
I  think,  however,  that  Prof.  Benjamin's  remarks  open  the  way  for  me  to 
say  a  word  or  two  about  these  much  berated  and  little  understood  busi- 
ness men.  To  my  mind  they  are  as  much  needed  in  the  handling  of  eggs 
and  produce  as  the  producer  himself.  Without  the  middleman  in  one 
form  or  another,  be  it  a  co-operative  concern  or  commission  house,  it 
would  be  practically  impossible  to  properly  prepare  eggs  and  many  other 
products  of  the  farm  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  presentable  to  the  buying 
public  and  without  the  cold-storage  man  I  do  not  dare  to  suggest  to  you 
how  much  you  would  now  be  paying  for  fresh  eggs  and  many  of  the  other 
very  important  commodities  of  life. 

The  middleman  and  the  cold-storage  man  are  not,  in  the  main,  the 
ones  who  are  responsible  for  the  present  high  price  of  eggs.  If  a  few  of 
the  women  who  are  making  such  a  to-do  over  this  matter,  would  look 
into  the  proposition  more  closely  they  would  find  that  the  retailer  and  not 
the  parties  now  being  condemned,  are  in  fact  the  ones  who  are  robbing 
the  public  pocketbook.  By  way  of  illustration,  permit  me  to  say  that  I 
know  of  several  large  grocers  who  make  a  point  of  storing  eggs  in  the 
spring  and  then  withdrawing  them  the  next  fall  and  winter  as  fast  as  their 
trade  demands.  These  men,  as  well  as  other  grocers,  who  l)uy  from 
large  egg  dealers  having  holdings  in  storage  houses,  take  eight  or  ten 
cases  of  eggs,  which  have  probably  been  purchased  around  twenty-five 

(54) 


55 

cents,  and  grade  them  over  to  supply  the  requirements  of  their  trade. 
In  other  words,  in  the  hands  of  these  men,  ten  cases  of  storage  eggs  may 
produce  as  high  as  five  cases  of  nearby  henneries  retailing  anywhere  from 
fifty  to  seventy-five  cents  a  dozen,  two  or  three  cases  of  so-called  fresh 
eggs  selling  at  a  slightly  lower  price  than  the  former  and  finally,  what  are 
left  are  then  classed  as  storage  eggs.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  good 
housewife  of  the  country  objects  to  buying  storage  eggs  and  demands 
what  she  is  led  to  believe  is  the  fresh  product?  If  this  conference  and 
organization  wants  a  problem  worthy  of  its  consideration  I  would  like  to 
suggest  that  they  do  everything  in  their  power  to  see  to  it  that  storage 
eggs  are  sold  as  storage  eggs. 

Returning  to  the  co-operative  idea  which  has  been  so  well  discussed 
by  my  colleague,  I  want  to  say  that  my  experience  along  this  line  has 
been  that  the  personal  element  which  naturally  enters  into  these  organiza- 
tions has  been  the  greatest  setback  to  their  progress.  I  firmly  believe, 
however,  that  the  idea  is  right  and  that  ultimately  the  vast  majority  of 
our  agricultural  products  will  be  handled  along  some  such  lines.  To  cite 
an  instance  of  the  great  disadvantage  of  the  personal  element,  let  me 
tell  you  something  about  the  greatest  co-operative  state  in  our  union. 
Minnesota  has  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  900  co-operative 
creameries  and  she  also  has  several  large  private  centralizing  concerns. 
Naturally  these  centralizers  are  after  all  the  business  they  can  get  and 
in  order  to  undermine  the  co-operative  associations,  in  which  they  know 
this  personal  greed  for  gain  is  bound  to  help  them,  they  conduct  a  station 
in  the  town  where  there  is  a  co-operative  association  and  boost  the  price 
of  butter  fat  until  those  managing  the  co-operative  concern  can  no  longer 
compete  with  them.  The  result  you  probably  already  know.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  co-operative  organization,  as  soon  as  the  price  of  the  cen- 
tralizers exceeds  that  of  their  own  office,  immediately  become  suspicious 
of  their  manager  and  take  their  products  to  the  competitive  house.  After 
the  co-operative  concern  is  completely  disorganized  the  centralizer,  who 
has  now  secured  the  bulk  of  the  business,  gradually  reduces  the  price 
until  it  again  strikes  a  normal  level.  This  may  not  be  the  exact  plan 
that  is  always  followed  in  such  cases,  but  from  my  observation  it  presents 
a  fairly  accurate  picture  of  the  usual  situation.  While  I  regret  to  say  so 
it  is  nevertheless  true  that  there  seems  to  be  no  limit  to  which  American 
business  may  stoop  today  in  order  to  crush  out  a  competitor. 

I  again  repeat  that  the  co-operative  idea  is  a  splendid  medium 
through  which  the  farmer  or  producer  may  buy  or  sell  his  products.  To 
be  successful,  however,  it  is  absolutely  essential  that  the  men  in  charge 
be  competent,  command  the  respect  and  confidence  of  patrons  and  have 
at  heart  the  welfare  and  betterment  of  the  community  in  which  they  are 
operating.  A  great  many  of  the  failures  of  the  various  co-operative 
organizations  can  be  traced  to  the  fact  that  the  men  in  charge  of  them 
have  little  or  no  laiowledge  concerning  the  handling  and  selling  of  the 


66 

products  in  which  they  deal.  Too  often  a  community  becomes  enthused 
over  the  co-operative  idea  and  proceeds  at  once  to  perfect  an  organiza- 
tion, elect  officers  and  formulate  rules  and  regulations  with  little  or  no 
regard  as  to  the  fitness  of  the  various  people  assigned  to  different  branches 
of  the  work,  to  buy,  grade,  pack  and  sell  the  eggs  or  other  commodities 
which  they  may  propose  to  handle.  There  can  be  but  one  result  to  such 
methods  and  that,  as  you  know,  is  failure.  The  broker,  commission 
man  or  business  man  in  the  city  stand  but  little  chance  of  being  successful 
today  unless  they  thoroughly  understand  every  detail  of  the  business  with 
which  they  are  connected  and  this  applies  equally  as  well  to  the  officers  in 
charge  of  a  co-operative  association.  Not  only  must  the  officers  be  com- 
petent and  proficient,  but  it  is  of  vital  importance  that  the  patrons  of  a 
co-operative  association  have  implicit  confidence  in  their  officials.  This 
latter  thought  is  to  be  connected  primarily  with  the  prices  paid  and 
received  for  products  handled.  With  our  wonderful  twentieth  century 
development  of  mail  service,  telegraph  and  rural  free  delivery,  every 
patron  is  enabled  to  procure  first-hand  information  concerning  the  whole- 
sale market  quotations,  retail  selling  prices  of  practically  any  product 
that  is  produced  on  the  farm  and,  if  he  makes  good  use  of  this  information, 
there  is  no  reason  why  he  should  be  misled  by  competitive  quotations 
which  have  as  their  object  the  undermining  and  disorganization  of  the 
independent  co-operative  organization.  He  can  tell  at  a  glance  whether 
or  not  the  officers  of  his  particular  association  are  returning  to  him  the 
proper  per  cent  of  profits  as  manifested  by  public  quotations.  If  they 
appear  to  be  doing  this,  it  is  only  fair  to  the  officers  and  other  members 
of  the  association  that  he  consult  with  them  before  going  over  to  any 
competitive  buyer  who  is  offering-  more  remunerative  prices.  The  pursu- 
ance of  such  a  policy  will,  in  the  main,  be  conducive  to  a  vigorous, 
healthy  growth  of  the  co-operative  idea. 

I  feel  that  I  should  ask  your  pardon  for  digressing  from  the  main 
theme  of  my  talk,  for  while  co-operative  organizations  are  more  or  less 
closely  affiliated  with  the  general  problem  of  marketing  eggs,  they  are,  so 
to  speak,  only  a  drop  in  the  bucket  when  we  consider  the  enormous 
quantity  of  eggs  that  is  consumed  each  year  in  the  congested  centers. 
In  time  their  influence  is  bound  to  be  felt,  but  at  present  our  attention 
should  be  directed  mainly  to  the  vast  problem  of  properly  handling  the 
ordinary  farm  egg  which  composes  over  ninety  per  cent  of  the  commercial 
egg  trade.  Let  us  then,  for  a  few  minutes,  direct  our  attention  to  this 
general  problem  and  attempt  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  some  methods 
of  procedure  may  be  Evolved  which  will  have  as  their  final  object  the 
elimination  of  the  present  $45,000,000  yearly  loss  in  the  production, 
handling  and  marketing  of  the  nation's  egg  supply. 

In  order  that  we  may  make  pertinent  suggestions  we  must  first  know 
something  of  the  present  conditions  surrounding  the  commercial  egg 
trade.     The  production  is  naturally  the  first  factor  which  demands  our 


57 

attention  and  knowledge  covering  this  subject  must  be  obtained  first 
hand  from  the  farmer  himself.  A  survey  of  this  field  reveals  to  us  shift- 
less and  haphazard  methods  of  management  and  no  particular  attention 
is  paid  to  housing,  feeding  and  breeding.  The  care  and  handling  of  the 
egg  itself,  which  is  the  question  we  are  most  deeply  interested  in,  appears 
to  be  the  last  consideration  of  the  producer,  and  as  we  follow  the  egg  in 
its  journey  to  the  ultimate  consumer  we  shall  I  hope  realize  in  a  measure 
the  reason  for  this  apparent  indifference  on  the  part  of  the  farmer. 

The  most  striking  reason  for  this  indifference  is  to  be  found  in  the 
absurd  methods  of  handling  this  perishable  product,  which  have  been  and 
are  still  in  vogue  in  many  states.  Explained  in  the  briefest  form,  this 
method  calls  for  the  payment  of  a  fixed  price,  which  happens  to  be  current 
at  the  time,  for  each  and  every  dozen  of  eggs  which  may  be  offered  for 
sale,  regardless  of  whether  the  eggs  themselves  are  good,  bad  or  indif- 
ferent. In  other  words,  the  only  requisite  necessary  in  order  to  con- 
summate a  sale  is  for  each  egg  to  have  an  intact  shell.  Under  such  a 
system  is  it  any  wonder  that  when  John  Doe  brings  a  case  of  clean,  fresh 
eggs  to  town  and  receives  the  same  price  that  his  neighbor  is  paid  for 
rotten  eggs,  he  soon  becomes  indifferent  and  cares  little  or  nothing  about 
the  quality  of  future  products? 

Without  a  waste  of  further  words,  we  can  sum  up  the  situation  with 
the  adage,  "Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap."  Egg 
men,  commission  men  and  all  others  who  deal  in  eggs  have  only  them- 
selves to  blame  for  existing  conditions.  The  standard  which  they  have 
established  has  been  well  lived  up  to  by  the  farmers.  All  this,  however, 
is  past  history  and  I  take  it  that  this  conference  is  mainly  interested  in 
suggestions  and  plans  looking  to  the  betterment  of  existing  conditions, 
therefore  let  us  leave  this  portion  of  the  problem  and  consider  remedies 
which  may  help  to  alleviate  it. 

We  know  without  further  consideration  that  methods  of  production 
on  the  farm  are  anything  but  what  they  should  be  and  the  first  problem 
then  for  our  attention  is  the  improvement  of  these  conditions.  This 
improvement  may  be  accomplished  through  our  agricultural  colleges  and 
experiment  stations  with  the  co-operation  of  such  organizations  as  we  are 
now  participating  in.  The  colleges  and  experiment  stations  are  doing 
everything  in  their  power  to  help  along  these  lines,  but  it  will  not  be 
until  the  city  business  man,  who  makes  his  money  by  handling  eggs,  puts 
his  shoulder  to  the  wheel  and  helps  by  inaugurating  progressive,  common 
sense  methods  of  buying  eggs  that  we  may  look  for  substantial  progress. 
The  agricultural  worker  may  talk  higher  quality  eggs  until  he  is  black  in 
the  face,  it  will  have  little  effect  until  the  city  egg  man  offers  dollars  and 
cents  inducement  for  the  producers  of  the  same.  Let  him  also  help  in 
disseminating  knowledge  concerning  better  methods  of  housing,  feeding, 
rearing  and  breeding  poultry.  Elementary  knowledge  is  what  is  needed 
and  not  dope  about  the  250-egg  hen.  Let  us  first  endeavor  to  improve 
the  70-egg  farm  hen  before  we  tackle  this  rainbow. 


58 

In  conjunction  with  whatever  efforts  raay  be  made  to  improve  pro- 
duction conditions,  there  should  be  tremendous  agitation  along  the  line 
of  improved  methods  of  buying.  The  old  case-count  system  must  be 
discarded  and  substituted  by  the  quality  or  loss-off  system.  The  mer- 
chant or  business  man  who  purchased  a  bill  of  goods  simply  on  the 
guarantee  that  it  would  be  shipped  in  a  substantial  box  would  be  quite 
likely,  as  has  been  the  case  with  the  egg  man,  to  get  nothing  but  the  box. 
Just  as  soon  as  every  egg  man  insists  that  all  eggs  purchased  be  candled 
and  payment  made  only  for  such  eggs  as  are  fit  for  human  consumption, 
are  we  going  to  begin  to  make  a  marked  improvement  in  the  quality  of 
the  commercial  egg.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  this  is  now  being  done  in 
several  large  egg  producing  'states  and  what  we  want  to  do  is  to  continue 
the  good  w^ork  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  infertile  egg  is  without  doubt  the  most  important  factor  in 
eliminating  the  present  $45,000,000  loss  in  handling  the  nation's  egg 
supply.  Carefully  conducted  experiments  show  that  this  class  of  egg  is 
fifty  per  cent  more  resistant  to  unfavorable  environmental  conditions  than 
the  fertile  egg.  Egg  men  in  Philadelphia  and  every  other  city  in  the 
United  States  should  take  as  their  slogan  the  production  of  infertile  eggs. 
Advocate  the  elimination  of  the  male  birds  as  soon  as  the  hatching  season 
is  over  and,  presto!  the  desired  result  is  obtained.  At  first  thought  it 
appears  too  simple  and  absurd  to  be  worthy  of  serious  consideration,  but 
I  am  willing  to  go  on  record  with  the  statement  that  if  we  can  induce  the 
farmer  to  produce  infertile  eggs,  and  leave  out  all  other  considerations  as 
to  the  improvement  of  general  conditions,  the  present  $45,000,000  loss 
will  be  cut  in  half. 

In  closing  I  leave  th^  following  suggestions  for  your  consideration. 

See  to  it  that  storage  eggs  are  sold  as  storage  eggs. 

Encourage  the  inculcation  of  better  methods  of  production  on  the 
farm. 

Demand  that  the  loss-off  or  quality  system  of  buying  replace  the 
present  absurd  case-count  system. 

Advocate  through  whatever  channels  may  be  available  the  produc- 
tion of  infertile  eggs. 

There  are  many  other  problems  connected  with  this  vast  egg  indus- 
try, but  those  touched  upon  will,  I  think,  provide  sufficient  work  for 
some  time  to  come. 

Mr.  Herbert  P.  Brown:  Last  spring  cold-storage  men  had  eggs 
that  were  worth  only  twenty  cents  right  from  the  farmer. 

Mr.  Opperman:  Yes,  I  think  eggs  were  only  twenty  cents,  but  the 
great  trouble  is  they  do  not  come  to  the  cold-storage  men  in  the  right 
condition.  If  they  had  been  sent  there  direct,  I  think  they  would  have 
come  out  of  cold  storage  just  as  fine  and  just  as  fresh  as  the  day  they 
went  in  there.     Cold  storage  is  a  great  blessing  to  humanity,  to  agricul- 


59 

ture  and  to  humanity,  too.     Without  cold  storage  we  could  not  buy  eggs 
for  a  dollar  a  dozen.     We  could  not  do  without  cold-storage  facilities. 

Mrs.  Smith:  We  will  now  be  accused  of  taking  sides  with  the  cold- 
storage  people  or  with  holding  stock  in  the  cold-storage  houses.  What 
we  want  to  do  is  to  get  all  the  information  that  we  can  possibly  get  and 
to  have  a  square  deal  for  the  farmer  and  a  square  deal  for  the  consumer. 
We  want  to  get  intelligent  light  thrown  on  all  these  questions,  and  that 
is  why  we  are  having  this  conference.  I  am  a  farmer  myself,  and  any- 
thing about  a  farm  that  a  farmer's  wife  has  done  I  believe  I  have  done, 
and  anything  that  a  man  has  to  do  about  a  farm,  my  husband  has  done, 
but  nevertheless  we  have  to  acknowledge  that  these  charges  against  the 
farmer  are  more  or  less  true.  I  had  a  very  good  farmer's  wife  on  our 
place  last  summer  and  she  and  I  were  particularly  partners  on  the  chicken 
question.  She  came  from  New  York  State  and  she  had  been  under  the 
impression,  as  Mr.  Benjamin  mentioned  to  us,  that  just  any  egg  was  a 
good  egg.  On  this  day  in  question  she  brought  a  basket  of  eggs  and  said, 
"Isn't  that  splendid;  twenty  eggs."  I  said,  ''Yes,  where  did  you  find 
them?"  She  said,  ''Back  of  the  pig  pen,  and  I  know  they  are  all  per- 
fectly good."  I  said,  "Very  well,  if  they  are  perfectly  good,  we  will 
have  them  for  supper."  I  can  only  tell  you  they  were  unspeakable. 
That  is  what  happened.  The  location  of  the  egg  basket  in  the  farm 
kitchen  is  another  item.  These  are  some  of  the  many  points  that  we  have 
got  to  have  information  upon.  That  is  what  we  are  here  for.  Are  there 
any  questions  ^desired  to  be  asked?  I  will  ask  those  who  are  present  at 
this  afternoon's  meeting  to  be  present  tonight,  and  we  can  talk  to  these 
gentlemen  this  evening  when  we  meet. 

Prof.  C.  L.  King,  of  the  Wharton  School,  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
has  a  very  valuable  contribution  to  make  to  us  on  "  City-Country  Unity 
Through  Market  Bureaus."     I  take  pleasure  in  introducing  Prof.  King. 


CITY-COUNTRY  UNITY  THROUGH  MARKET  BUREAUS. 


Dr.  Clyde  Lyndon  King, 
Political  Science,  Wharton  School,  University  of  Pennsylvania. 


I.    Marketing — Its  Significance  to  Farmer  and  Consumer. 

The  cost  of  living  agitation  has  turned  the  active  minds  of  many 
men  in  all  parts  of  the  country  and  in  all  trades  and  occupations  to  a 
scrutiny  of  our  existing  producing  and  distributing  systems,  with  a  view 
to  finding  out  what  programme  may  be  adopted  for  the  permanent  lower- 
ing of  living  costs.  These  numerous  inquiries  and  studies  have  clearly 
established  the  following  general  facts  as  to  food  products: 

1.  Production  costs  will  increase. 

2.  Lower  living  costs,  or  even  present  price  levels,  are  to  be  main- 
tained if  at  all  only  through  lowering  distribution  costs. 

Numerous  potent  factors  are  making  and  bid  fair  to  continue  to  make 
for  increased  production  costs.  The  first  of  these  is  the  fact  that  popula- 
tion has  increased  more  rapidly  than  the  available  food  supply.  While 
the  population  of  the  United  States  increased  practically  thirty  miUions 
from  1890  to  1910,  the  number  of  cattle  in  the  United  States  decreased 
four  milHons.  Such  facts  as  these  as  to  the  ratio  which  the  increase  in 
population  bears  to  the  food  supply  meet  one  at  every  turn.  Moreover, 
there  has  been  a  most  significant  increase  in  land  values.  In  the  last 
decade  timber  lands  in  the  United  States  have  trebled  in  value,  farm 
lands  have  doubled  in  value,  and  city  lands  have  increased  from  20  to 
200  per  cent.  And  there  is  every  indication  that  farm  and  urban  land 
values  will  continue  to  rise;  they  certainly  will  so  long  as  they  are 
capitahzed,  as  at  present,  not  only  at  their  productive  value,  but  at  their 
possible  earning  value  in  future  years  when  population  will  be  greater 
and  food  demands  heavier.  An  increase  of  300  per  cent  in  the  supply 
of  gold  from  1890  to  1910  together  with  an  equal  increase  in  the  amount 
of  credit  has  without  doubt  caused  a  lowering  in  the  purchasing  power  of 
the  dollar.  This  is  not  the  only  factor  in  higher  costs,  as  some  would 
have  us  think,  but  it  is  one  of  the  factors.  And  as  there  is  no  indication 
of  a  change  in  either  gold  supply  or  credit  supply,  this  force  also  joins  in 
boosting  prices.  There  has  likewise  been  an  increase  in  the  cost  of  raw 
materials  and  in  labor  costs. 

All  of  these  factors  seem  to  show  that  without  a  doubt  production 
costs  will  increase.  This  does  not  mean,  to  be  sure,  that  nothing  should 
be  done  to  prevent  an  undue  enhancement  of  production  costs,  but  it 

(60) 


61 

does  mean  that  every  urban  community  especially  will  have  to  meet  a 
very  grave  crisis  unless  food  costs  can  at  least  be  kept  at  existing  levels. 
The  avenue  through  which  this  can  be  done,  it  appears,  is  in  simplify- 
ing and  in  making  more  economic  and  efficient  the  marketing  of  food 
products. 

At  the  present  time  the  consumer  pays  over  two  dollars  for  the  same 
produce  for  which  the  farmer  receives  one  dollar.  In  other  words,  it  costs 
much  more  to  get  our  food  products  from  the  farmer's  gate  to  the  con- 
sumer's table  than  it  does  to  produce  them.  Such  are  the  facts  that  have 
been  given  winged  publicity  throughout  the  past  year.  The  result  of  the 
dissemination  of  information  of  this  character  is  that  certain  definite 
steps  are  being  taken  and  certain  demands  are  being  made  by  farmer  and 
consumer,  transportation  and  business  interests  alike,  for  lowering  dis- 
tribution costs.     Let  us  see  what  these  activities  are. 

II.    What  Are  the  Farmers  Doing? 

The  activities  of  the  farmers  may  be  grouped  in  three  classes:  (1) 
their  attempts  to  sell  directly  through  municipal  markets,  hampers  and 
similar  methods;  (2)  the  organization  of  producers'  co-operative  societies, 
and  (3)  careful  scientific  studies,  assisted  by  experts,  to  determine  exactly 
what  can  be  done  to  return  to  the  farmer  a  greater  proportion  of  the  price 
paid  for  food  by  consumers. 

The  farmers'  attempts  to  sell  directly  have  led  to  a  demand  for  open 
air,  curbstone,  water-front  and  terminal  wholesale  markets.  Hon.  Cyrus 
C.  Miller,  of  New  York,  has  done  much  to  show  the  need  and  value  of  a 
wholesale  terminal  market  which  will  allow  not  only  direct  sales  by  farm- 
ers but  also  sales  to  retailers  at  minimum  costs.  European  cities  have 
long  made  use  of  this  method,  and  by  keeping  in  each  of  their  wholesale 
markets  a  bonded  city-appointed  agent  who  sells  at  auction  any  goods 
consigned  to  him,  have  not  only  reduced  distribution  costs  but  also  given 
facilities  for  the  preservation  of  foods  and  for  quick  and  inexpensive  sales 
of  produce  from  all  countries  of  the  earth.  Municipal  markets  have 
recently  been  adopted  in  many  cities  throughout  the  United  States,  and 
in  certain  cities  where  municipal  markets  already  exist,  there  is  a  growing 
demand  for  additional  ones.  The  hamper  method  of  sales  has,  within  the 
last  year,  received  a  great  deal  of  careful  attention,  and,  combined  with 
the  parcel  post,  promises  results  of  significant  though  limited  character. 

The  formation  of  producers'  co-operative  associations  is  deeply  sig- 
nificant because  it  is  essential  to  minimizing  and  simplifying  distribution 
costs.  A  prime  essential  to  any  trade  is  that  the  goods  be  reUably  sorted, 
properly  packed  in  a  way  fitted  to  the  trade,  and  honestly  branded  and 
marked.  When  these  three  things  are  performed,  the  risk  that  must 
now  be  assumed  by  the  wholesaler^  jobber  and  country  buyer  can  largely 
be  ehminated — a  risk  that  has  necessarily  been  expressed  in  higher  prices 
for  consumers.     Producers'  co-operation  not  only  accomplishes  these  ends 


62 

but  also  brings  better  returns  to  producers  through  better  business  man- 
agement; eliminates  waste  and  decay  by  better  preservation  and  more 
direct  shipments;  assures  economies  in  marketing  and  promises  better 
and  fresher  goods  to  consumers  at  prices  shaved  of  unnecessary  costs. 

Because  producers'  co-operation  does  these  things,  the  State  of 
Wisconsin  has  made  it  the  main  duty  of  its  state  market  bureau  to  aid 
the  organization  of  farmers'  co-operative  societies,  and  show  the  farmers 
how  most  economically  and  effectively  to  sort,  pack,  grade  and  market 
their  goods.  In  May  of  this  year  an  Office  of  Markets  was  established 
under  the  national  Department  of  Agriculture  to  perform  a  similar  ser- 
vice. The  work  of  this  newly  established  office,  in  the  words  of  its  chief, 
Mr.  Charles  J.  Brand,  'Vill  include  a  study  of  existing  marketing 
organizations  and  compilation  of  laws,  state  and  national,  affecting 
organized  production  and  distribution,  and  the  promotion  of  new  market- 
ing organizations  and  consumers'  leagues,  in  so  far  as  these  activities  may 
be  carried  on  within  the  authority  of  the  department,"  with  a  view  to 
estabhshing  direct  deahngs  with  organized  producers  and  to  extending 
more  direct  sales  from  producer  to  consumer. 

The  third  activity  of  farmers  is  of  special  significance.  It  is  the 
creation  of  county  farm  bureaus  with  the  co-operation  of  agricultural 
colleges,  and  the  United  States  and  state  departments  of  agriculture. 
These  farm  bureaus  will  not  only  make  a  study  of  the  different  systems  of 
farming,  live  stock  problems,  the  needs  of  the  soil  and  farm  management 
problems,  but  they  will  also  keep  general  information  bureaus  and  try 
to  co-operate  harmoniously  with  farmers,  with  producers'  societies  and 
with  all  the  agricultural  agencies  in  the  county,  to  further  marketing  and 
the  direct  sale  of  farm  products.  This  is  most  significant  indeed  as  it 
promises  that  the  farmer  is  going  to  solve  his  market  problem  by  securing 
reliable  data  and  by  going  about  it  in  a  thoroughgoing  systematic  manner. 

III.  What  Are  Business  Interests  Doing? 
Transportation  carriers  especially  have  long  since  recognized  the 
poignant  value  of  having  market  bureaus  that  will  assist  the  farmer  in 
finding  a  market  for  his  goods  and  in  teaching  him  how  best  to  prepare 
his  goods  for  sale.  The  Pennsylvania  and  Long  Island  Railroads  are 
among  the  railroads  that  have  had  virile  market  and  experimental 
bureaus  that  have  done  yeoman  service  in  marketing.  The  Lehigh  Valley 
Transit  Company  has  also  done  a  work  of  inestimable  service  through  its 
marketing  system.  Wells,  Fargo  &  Company  has  recently  created  an 
Order,  Commission  and  Food  Products  Department,  the  aim  of  which 
will  be  to  study  the  food  products  problem  from  various  viewpoints,  and 
to  encourage  and  assist  growers  and  producers  by  aiding  them  in  finding 
suitable  markets  among  dealers  and  consumers,  and  in  securing,  at  mini- 
mum cost,  suitable  sanitary  packages  or  containers  in  which  to  ship. 
''It  is  the  intention  of  the  department,"  says  its  organizer,  'Ho  gather 


63 

information  that  will  enable  the  producer,  the  distributor,  the  consumer 
and  the  carrier  to  keep  more  closely  in  touch  with  each  other,  to  the  very 
material  benefit  of  all." 

To  be  sure,  those  bureaus  have  been  organized  primarily  for  the 
purpose  of  furthering  the  business  interests  of  the  concerns  affected.  In 
furthering  their  business  interests,  however,  they  have  also  'furthered 
without  doubt  the  prosperity  of  the  farmer,  the  business  interests  of  the 
city,  and  remotely,  no  doubt,  the  interests  of  the  consumer  as  well. 

IV.    What  is  the  Consumer  Doing? 

But  what  is  the  consumer  doing,  he  who  pays  half  his  income  for 
food?  We  certainly  would  expect  him  to  be  alert  as  to  exactly  the 
channels  through  which  his  food  products  are  reaching  him. 

Quite  to  the  contrary,  he  has  done  practically  nothing.  He  is  not 
even  thinking,  he  is  just  wondering — ^wondering  because  he  does  not 
have  the  data  with  which  to  think. 

Some  consumers,  to  be  sure,  have  voiced  their  demands  through 
Housewives'  Leagues,  which  have  done  much  to  give  needed  publicity  as 
to  certain  ills  in  the  food  distribution  world,  to  certain  abuses  by  retailers, 
to  certain  types  of  misrepresentation,  to  needless  costs  to  consumers 
through  underweights  and  false  measures.  Other  consumers  have  united 
in  blindly  groping  for  some  kind  of  curative  legislation  that  they  hope 
will  cure  all  the  ills  to  which  they  have  been  subjected,  though  ofttimes, 
through  this  very  legislation,  their  ills  have  been  increased  rather  than 
diminished. 

I  have  said  that  the  consumer  was  doing  practically  nothing.  But 
there  is  one  thing  he  is  doing.  He  is  making  up  his  mind  that  something 
must  be  done  and  that  he  is  going  to  see  that  something  is  done.  And 
that  something  will  be  done,  no  one  can  doubt.  That  it  will  be  wisely 
done  is  utterly  unthinkable,  unless  by  sheerest  luck,  for  the  consumer 
does  not  have  at  hand  the  information  essential  for  wise  action^ 

V.    What  is  the  City  Doing? 

In  the  nineteenth  century  urban  prosperity  was  linked  closely  with 
the  growth  in  land  values  and  the  returns  that  came  from  exploiting  the 
virgin  soil.  This  source  of  wealth  has  passed  away.  The  city  must  now 
rely  upon  the  productive  power  of  its  average  citizen.  That  productive 
power  depends  primarily  upon  how  and  at  what  cost  that  citizenary  is 
fed.  One  would  natm-ally  think,  therefore,  that  the  city  would  certainly 
have  been  busied  in  formulating  methods  whereby  food  prices  might  be 
kept  at  a  minimum. 

But  such  is  far  from  the  case.  Philadelphia  is  spending  $100,000  a 
year — and  more  is  being  spent  in  other  cities — in  studying  the  needs  for 
a  facile  transit  system  that  will  get  the  wage-earner  to  his  work;  she  is 
paying  one  market  clerk  $1,000  a  year  in  order  to  solve  the  problem  as 


64 

to  what  that  worker  can  get  with  his  money  when  he  earns  it.  In  other 
words,  we  are  one  hundred  times  more  interested  in  getting  the  laborer 
to  his  work  than  we  are  in  the  purchasing  power  of  his  wage.  The  city 
must  now  choose  between  fortune  building  and  citizen  building. 

VI.    The  Situation  in  the  Cities. 

The  New  York  Market  Commission  found  that  practically  60  per 
cent  was  added  to  the  cost  of  food  products  from  the  time  it  landed  in  the 
New  York  City  Terminal  until  the  time  it  got  to  the  New  York  consumer. 
In  other  words,  the  greater  part  of  food  distribution  costs  occur  within 
the  city's  limits.  We  have  talked  much  about  the  need  of  scientific 
management  on  the  farm;  it  is  time  now  to  talk  about  scientific  manage- 
ment in  the  city.  The  city  is  the  place  where  there  is  the  greatest  waste 
and  inefficiency  in  marketing  food  products. 

What  are  some  of  the  elements  in  this  waste  and  inefficiency?  To 
enumerate  all  of  the  elements  in  this  waste  and  inefficiency  would  far 
exceed  the  possible  limits  of  this  paper.  In  the  first  place  there  has  been 
no  proper  co-ordination  between  water  terminals  and  land  terminals. 
At  least  5,000  vehicles  in  Philadelphia  are  used  for  haulage  and  cartage 
purposes.  At  five  dollars  a  day  for  300  days  in  the  year,  this  totals  an 
expenditure  of  $7,500,000  annually.  Would  a  better  situation  of  terminals 
and  a  proper  co-ordination  of  terminal  facilities  do  away  with  many  of 
these  needless  costs?  Chicago  is  just  now  studying  anew  its  terminal 
question.  What  of  our  water  fronts?  Herbert  Knox  Smith,  Commis- 
sioner of  Corporations,  in  a  special  three- volume  report  on  ''Water  Trans- 
portation," has  said:  ''Water-front  warehouse  space  is  inadequate,  except 
at  a  few  important  ports.  Modern  trans-shipping  machinery,  except  for 
bulk  freight,  is  almost  entirely  lacking."  Terminal  facilities,  though  as 
important  as  channels,  have  been  neglected;  our  harbors  are  not  properly 
organized  or  controlled;  railroads  largely  control  water  terminals  often  to 
the  disadvantage  of  general  water  traffic;  there  is  almost  no  linking  up 
of  the  rail  and  general  water  systems  at  the  water's  edge,  but  rather  the 
opposite  tendency;  there  is  little  co-operation  by  locaUties  with  the 
Federal  Government  which  improves  their  channels. 

Do  not  these  facts  alone  indicate  that  there  is  something  very  vital 
for  the  city  to  do? 

Our  cities  are  not  planned  for  minimum  distribution  costs.  If  they 
were  (1)  the  main  depots  would  be  so  located  as  to  be  efiiciently  related 
to  rail  and  water  lines;  (2)  steam  and  rail  lines  would  be  co-ordinated  in 
ample  terminal  facilities  in  harbors  efl&ciently  organized,  with  adequate 
trucking  facilities  at  every  terminal;  (3)  like  attention  would  be  given  to 
good  through  roads,  to  local  water  routes  and  to  trolley  lines  and  terminals 
that  local  freight  might  be  sent  to  just  the  section  of  the  city  where  it  is 
wanted;  (4)  there  would  be  a  pubfic  belt  fine  railway  co-ordinating  trans- 
porting, manufacturing  and  distributing  agencies;    (5)  the  main  centers 


65 

of  distribution  would  be  connected  by  conveniently  located  streets,  paved 
with  special  reference  to  their  traffic.  It  is  primarily  in  the  city  that 
inefficiency  and  waste  exist,  inefficiency  and  waste  that  affect  food  costs, 
standards  of  living,  citizenship. 

Then  again  the  increase  in  transit  facilities  coupled  with  the  growing 
demand  for  suburban  homes  and  country  residences  has  withdrawn  from 
farming  to  speculative  purposes  countless  acres  near  urban  centers.  Thus 
the  farming  country  has  been  beaten  back  farther  and  farther  from  the 
city's  gates,  to  the  end  that  the  farmer's  marketing  problem  has  become 
increasingly  more  complex.  To  bridge  this  chasm  and  to  link  city  and 
farm  as  they  were  once  linked  require  alert,  constructive  activity  by  the 
city,  activity  of  just  the  kind  a  market  bureau  can  render. 

The  problem  of  efficient  marketing  is  essentially  a  city  problem  and 
the  city  has  left  it  to  take  care  of  itself. 

VII.    What  Can  a  City  Market  Bureau  Do? 

There  are  primarily  two  points  of  view  to  be  considered  in  getting 
at  lower  food  costs  through  economic  and  efficient  distribution.  One  of 
these  is  the  point  of  view  of  the  farmer;  the  other  is  the  point  of  view  of 
the  consumer.  A  city  market  bureau  can  very  definitely  further  the 
interests  of  both  and  thus  administer  to  the  needs  of  nine  out  of  every  ten 
of  our  population. 

When  the  farmer  in  the  country  or  the  county  agent  himself  comes  to 
study  the  marketing  problem,  he  finds  that  he  is  practically  helpless  on 
account  of'  distance  from  the  city.  None  of  his  own  questions  can  he 
answer;  none  of  his  measures  can  be  effectively  adopted  from  without  the 
city.  European  countries  and  cities  have  thought  it  wise  to  make  it 
possible  for  the  farmer  to  get  public  moneys  in  order  to  buy  lands,  and 
have  lent  financial  assistance  to  farmers'  co-operative  societies  and 
individual  farmers  as  well.  The  American  city,  quite  in  contrast  to  these 
methods,  can  effectively  help  the  farmer  not  only  in  marketing  his  output, 
but  also  in  adapting,  sorting,  standardizing  and  packing  that  output  to 
suit  the  city  trade. 

The  question  as  to  what  a  municipal  market  bureau  can  do  can  be 
answered  in  large  part  by  reference  to  the  author's  own  letter  files.  One 
farmer  writes  that  he  would  fike  to  market  butter  by  parcel  post,  and 
wants  assistance  for  finding  consumers  in  Philadelphia.  Another  would 
fike  to  find  a  good  public  market  stall  where  he  can  sell  his  goods. 
Another  would  like  to  be  recommended  to  a  reliable  wholesale  jobber. 
Still  another  feels  he  can  by  the  hamper  method  get  in  direct  touch  with 
many  consumers  if  he  can  get  a  fist  of  city  dwellers  who  might  care  to 
consider  the  hamper  method.  Another  writes  that  his  freight  rates  are 
exorbitant  and  unfair.  Still  another  holds  that  the  freighting  facilities 
offered  at  his  station  are  wholly  inadequate.  Another  finds  need  for  the 
completion  of  a  certain  street  within  the  city  in  order  to  have  a  thorough- 


66 

fare  from  city  to  country.  One  farmers'  co-operative  association  asks 
whether  or  not  facilities  could  be  made  so  that  one  of  their  boats  could 
leave  the  New  Jersey  shore  and  find  ample  marketing  facilities  in  Phila- 
delphia. Many  others  have  questions  as  to  their  output  and  marketing 
methods. 

These  are  but  examples  of  the  kind  of  practical  service  a  municipal 
market  bureau  can  render.  Here  is  a  work  which  a  city  farm  bureau, 
and  a  city  farm  bureau  only,  with  thoroughgoing  information,  could 
properly  and  adequately  handle.  Without  such  co-operation,  the  county 
agents,  producers'  co-operative  societies,  farmers  themselves  will  be 
relatively  helpless  after  all  when  it  comes  to  finding  newer  and  better 
marketing  channels. 

Mr.  R.  B.  Dunlap,  County  Agriculturist,  with  offices  at  Altoona,  Pa., 
speaking  of  the  value  of  such  a  bureau  in  rendering  assistance  to  farmers 
says: 

''Of  course  we  are  taking  for  granted  that  it  would  be  'competently 
manned;'  to  the  County  Agent  it  would  mean  that  his  time  and  efforts 
could  be  devoted  more  largely  to  the  production  end,  because  if  a  market 
bureau  were  to  be  of  any  value,  it  would  have  for  one  of  its  main  pur- 
poses the  standardizing  of  all  products  shipped  from  the  farm  for  con- 
sumption in  the  cities. 

"We  are  greatly  in  need  of  such  a  work.  There  are  so  many  stand- 
ards, so  many  varieties  of  ideas  in  regard  to  first,  second  and  third  classes 
of  products  that  producers  feel  as  though  they  have  the  right  to  ask  first- 
class  prices.  On  the  other  hand,  the  retailers  and  consumers,  in  this 
city  at  least,  are  not  demanding  graded  articles.  First,  second  and  cull 
apples  may  be  found  in  the  same  lot.  Eggs  and  butter  are  not  graded, 
although  good  butter  is  receiving  the  premium. 

"This  state  of  affairs  perhaps  comes,  in  this  section,  from  the  way  in 
which  most  of  the  country  produce  comes  to  market,  mainly  through 
hucksters.  From  these  general  statements  I  think  we  can  see  some  of 
the  big  things  a  marketing  bureau  might  do." 

The  consumer  likewise  has  no  means  of  knowing  what  the  farmers 
are  doing  and  what  the  farmers  would  like  to  do.  No  retail  bulletins  are 
issued  in  this  country  as  in  European  countries  stating  to  farmers  what 
retail  prices  are.  Farmers  near  Philadelphia  have  not  the  sHghtest  notion 
as  to  what  Philadelphia  consumers  are  paying  for  their  produce,  nor  do 
Philadelphia  consumers  have  the  sHghtest  notion  as  to  what  farmers  are 
receiving  for  their  goods.  This  intelligence  is  essential  to  wise  co-opera- 
tion between  farmer  and  consumer. 

Such  a  market  bureau  could  stimulate  the  formation  of  market 
bureaus  in  outlying  counties,  could  render  distinct  assistance  in  regard  to 
the  sorting  and  packing  of  goods  so  as  to  fit  them  to  the  particular  needs 
of  the  city's  own  market.     In  this  way  selling  at  home  could  be  furthered. 


67 

Where  we  are  adding  one  to  our  rural  population,  we  are  adding  three 
to  our  city  population,  and  this  city  population  is  spreading  rapidly  in  all 
our  states.  By  furthering  selling  at  home,  therefore,  national  forces  will 
be  put  to  work  that  will  bring  sooner  or  later  a  shorter  route  from 
producer  to  consumer. 

VIII.     Stable  Business  through  Stable  Costs. 

In  the  last  fifteen  years  the  retail  prices  of  the  fifteen  main  food 
articles  for  which  the  average  workingman's  family  spends  two-thirds  of 
its  income  increased  57  per  cent.  During  this  time  agricultural  wages 
have  increased  not  over  one-third,  railroad  wages  perhaps  one-fourth, 
wages  in  the  manufacturing  industry  from  one-fifth  to  one-fourth.  In 
other  words,  the  purchasing  wage  of  the  laborer  is  rapidly  decreasing. 
If  the  money  wage  continue  to  increase  from  one-fifth  to  one-third,  while 
food  costs  increase  from  two-fifths  to  two-thirds,  does  it  take  a  mathemati- 
cian to  tell  that  the  American  laborer  will  soon  be  on  the  poverty  line? 

This  situation  has  ominous  meaning  to  every  business  man  in  the  city 
especially.  Just  so  long  as  this  situation  exists  there  must  be  a  discon- 
tent— a  discontent  justified  by  facts.  The  discontent,  as  all  observers 
know,  is  already  to  the  breaking  point.  While  it  exists  business  stability 
is  simply  unthinkable. 

And  yet  the  business  man  seems  indifferent  to  a  programme  for 
lowering  living  costs.  Were  it  not  so  tragic,  if  written  to  music  this 
indifference  would  make  good  comic  opera.  Only  through  lower  or  at 
least  stable  living  costs  can  there  possibly  be  business  stabifity  or  urban 
prosperity.  In  such  a  situation  the  worst  radical  is  the  one  who  urges 
that  nothing  be  done  lest  it  '^disturb  business."  In  such  a  situation  only 
the  one  who  does  something  is  the  conservative. 

Is  it  not  worth  the  business  man's  while  to  support  staunchly  a 
movement  that  will  make  possible  urban  welfare  and  country  welfare? 
That  will  make  possible  the  increasing  of  purchasing  powder  in  the  country 
round  about?  That  will  unquestionably  have  its  effect  on  living  costs 
and  the  wage-earner  within  the  city? 

The  establishment  of  a  virile,  competently  manned  city  market 
bureau  is  a  good  first  step  in  such  a  movement. 

Mr.  Felix  Albright:  We  hear  a  lot  about  the  high  cost  of  Uving. 
Why,  those  men  don't  know  anything  about  the  high  cost  of  Uving.  These 
old  w^hite-haired  men  who  took  part  in  the  Civil  War  know  that  wheat 
sold  for  $3.40  a  bushel;  com  $1.60;  rye  $1.50;  poultry  about  twenty 
dollars  a  hundred;  sugar  twenty-five  cents  a  pound,  and  all  the  rest. 
Now,  today,  we  have  wheat  at  ninety  cents.  The  great  trouble  is,  they 
talk  about  educating  the  farmer.  The  farmer  knows  more  than  the  city 
man  does.  The  city  people  don't  know  how  to  pick  out  an  apple.  They 
can't  pick  out  an  apple  to  eat. 


68 

Mrs.  Smith:  They  pick  out  a  Ben  Davis  every  time? 

Mr.  Albright:  Yes.  Now,  the  city  people  can  learn  something. 
If  they  are  willing  to  come  out  to  the  country  we  will  educate  them.  We 
hear  a  lot  from  these  city  men  about  farming.  If  they  would  come  to  us, 
they  would  know  something.  I  know  a  man  who  bought  a  farm,  over  two 
hundred  acres,  and  I  was  near  enough  to  recommend  a  first  class  man  to 
him  to  manage  it.  No,  he  didn't  want  that;  he  came  over  here  and 
employed  a  scientific  farmer,  graduate  of  a  college,  to  manage  it.  He 
managed  it  three  years,  and  it  cost  that  man  fourteen  thousand  dollars 
over  what  he  produced,  and  he  quit  in  disgust.  I  live  in  the  sand-hills  of 
New  Jersey — 

Mrs.  Smith:   Have  you  got  any  boys? 

Mr.  Albright:  I  have  four  of  them,  all  farmers.  I  have  had  some 
experience  with  graduates  from  agricultural  colleges.  One  of  them  spent 
half  his  time  studying  and  he  never  amounted  to  anything.  It  was  not 
in  him.  The  Board  of  Health  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York  require  milk 
to  be  delivered  at  a  temperature  of  fifty,  instead  of  sixty.  Dr.  Neff,  in 
his  every-day  bulletin,  says  we  have  killed  so  many  babies  by  shipping 
hot  milk  here,  simply  because  the  temperature  was  sixty,  instead  of  fifty, 
but  friends,  the  rest  of  your  lives  read  the  North  American.  If  anyone 
reads  the  North  American,  he  is  all  right.  They  said  last  spring  about 
having  milk  come  in  refrigerator  cars,  which  costs  the  farmer  three  cents 
extra  for  refrigerating,  and  Dr.  Neff  stated  that  there  was  such  a  high  rate 
of  mortality  among  children  in  June,  1913,  I  made  up  my  mind  that  these 
babies  must  have  been  killed  by  having  milk  come  in  too  cold.  Now,  that 
North  American  editorial  comes  next  to  the  Bible  with  me.  Now,  we  hear 
a  lot  about  saving  babies.  I  heard  there  were  three  hundred  had  died  and 
yet  they  insist  upon  cold  milk  coming  in.  How  are  you  going  to  save  them? 
Cold  milk  won't  save  them.  One  of  our  members  of  Congress  wants  to 
have  a  law  passed  that  we  must  not  kill  our  cattle  under  two  years.  What 
are  you  going  to  do  for  veal?  I  think  the  people  want  education,  and  if 
they  will  stay  with  us  farmers  a  while,  we  will  educate  them.  Then  talking 
about  eggs;  we  have  people  come  over  to  Jersey  and  buy  up  these  sand 
lots  and  only  stay  a  month  or  two.  One  party  came  and  bought  a  big 
piece  of  land,  and  out  of  five  hundred  eggs  they  got  eighteen  chickens. 
We  had  seven  hundred  eggs,  and  were  going  to  raise  broilers,  and  I  was 
going  to  supply  hotels,  and  we  only  had  one  chicken  which  represented 
seven  hundred  eggs.  I  tell  you  it  is  worth  a  good  deal  to  be  a  farmer,  and 
there  is  nothing  as  green  in  the  world  as  a  city  boy  in  the  country.  I  think 
I  have  said  enough. 

Mrs.  Smith  :  I  would  hke  to  hear  from  others. 

Mr.  Douglas:  I  am  a  city  man  born  on  a  farm.  I  have  brought 
eggs  down  to  a  wholesale  commission  dealer  in  eggs  in  Philadelphia,  who 


69 

candled  them,  and  evidently  the  candler  knew  his  business,  for  he  said 
they  were  extra  eggs,  were  laid  yesterday.  That  was  true  and  he  showed 
his  skill,  but  he  would  not  take  them.  He  said  he  didn't  want  them; 
they  were  too  good.  I  went  to  another  commission  man  and  he  said  he 
would  be  glad  to  have  my  eggs,  but  he  would  only  allow  me  five  cents  less 
than  the  market  price  quoted  in  the  papers.  The  result  is,  I  don't  know 
what  to  do  with  my  eggs,  except  to  eat  them  myself.  Then  I  went  to 
another  place,  a  fancy  grocer,  and  I  gave  him  a  commission  of  five  cents 
a  dozen  for  all  the  eggs  he  sold,  to  be  guaranteed  on  my  part  that  they  were 
delivered  to  him  within  thirty-six  hours  of  the  time  they  were  laid,  and  he 
sold  a  few  cases,  but  he  said  his  customers  really  did  not  care  for  that  kind 
of  egg. 

Mr.  F.  R.  Stevens:  I  simply  think  that  I  ought  to  say,  with  all 
respect  to  our  friend  from  the  sand-hills  of  Jersey,  that  I  have  met  in  my 
years  experience  a  great  many  farmers  who  take  the  same  view  of  life  that 
our  friend  does.  I  am  willing  to  adnoit  to  him  that  a  city  man  with  only 
city  training  is  as  much  out  of  place  on  a  farm  as  a  man  is  from  the  country 
who  had  never  gone  off  his  farm  before  and  was  suddenly  called  to  a  bank 
or  clothing  store  or  something  Hke  that.     Both  are  absolutely  out  of  place. 

Now,  we  have  progressed  along  lines  of  scientific  training  and  original 
work.  We  know  more  of  scientific  training  through  schools  of  agriculture, 
and  land  is  getting  better  tilled  since.  I  have  during  the  seven  or  eight 
years  I  have  been  in  extension  work  made  it  a  fundamental  principle 
never,  when  I  met  a  farmer,  give  him  any  kind  of  advice,  unless  he  first 
came  to  me  and  asked  me  for  my  advice.  Men  typical  of  our  friend  from 
the  sand-hills  of  Jersey  have  asked  for  the  assistance  of  the  agricultural 
department  of  our  railroad  and  the  agricultural  department  of  the  state 
and  the  Federal  Government  and  other  experimental  and  extension  stations. 
Men  have  applied  to  me  for  assistance  from  among  our  present  practical 
prosperous  farmers,  along  our  lines,  and  in  the  country.  These  men  realize, 
as  our  friend  has  said,  that  there  is  a  great  deal  that  is  practical,  but  they 
also  realize  that  there  is  as  much  to  be  gauied  from  a  knowledge  of  the 
scientific  end  of  it  as  anything  else.  I  saw  one  man  being  told  certain 
things  to  do  by  a  man  who  is  a  graduate  from  an  agricultural  college.  I 
said  to  him,  ''Why,  that  fellow  is  telling  you  things  that  would  take  you 
fifty  years  to  learn."  We  have  met  with  the  experience  of  that  gentleman 
and  others  of  his  type,  in  that  it  takes  them  fifty  year&  to  learn  how  to  do 
a  thing,  but  that  is  not  the  sort  of  a  graduate  agricultural  colleges  are  send- 
ing out  today.  The  colleges  could  not  do  without  you,  and  yet  they  are 
going  to  assist  you. 

Mr.  Eavenson  :  There  is  one  thing  I  can't  understand,  and  possibly 
some  of  you  gentlemen  can  explain  it  to  me,  and  that  is:  Why  the  rail- 
roads charge  for  refrigeration  eight  months  of  the  year  and  only  give 
four?    The  only  reason  I  have  heard  advanced  is  that  it  averages  the  cost. 


70 

The  farmer  should  ask  the  consumer  to  pay  for  that,  and  it  is  no  more 
than  right  that  the  consumer  should  pay  for  the  refrigeration  when  they 
insist  upon  having  cold  milk. 

Mr.  Stevens:  That  may  be  due  to  local  conditions.  The  line  which 
I  represent  does  not  ship  milk  to  Philadelphia.  We  do  ship  milk  to  New 
York.  We  start  a  train  from  Geneva  which  carries  milk  into  the  City  of 
New  York.  The  cars  are  arranged  for  refrigeration,  and  it  is  a  special 
train,  used  for  nothing  else,  and  the  charge  from  Geneva  to  New  York, 
about  350  miles,  and  taking  the  empty  cans  back,  and  refrigeration  all 
the  way,  is  seven-tenths  of  one  cent  per  quart. 

Mr.  Eavenson:  That  is  charged  for  the  whole  year? 

Mr.  Stevens:  The  whole  year, 

Mr.  Eavenson:  We  are  charged  eight  months. 

Mr.  Stevens  :  At  present  we  are  icing  the  cars,  and  you  must  remem- 
ber that  you  have  ice  eight  months  of  the  year,  and  that  milk  is  brought  out 
at  three  cents  a  quart  in  Geneva  and  delivered  at  New  York  at  seven- 
tenths  of  a  cent,  which  makes  the  cost  in  New  York  three  and  seven- 
tenths  cents  a  quart,  and  it  sells  for  nine.  That  is  where  to  find  the  leak. 
The  leak  is  somewhere  between  three  and  seven-tenths  cents  and  nine 
cents. 

Mrs.  Smith:  If  there  are  no  further  questions  the  meeting  is  ad- 
journed. 


Thursday  Evening,  December  4th,  8  o'Clock. 
Council  Chamber,  City  Hall. 


Honorary  Chairman,  Charles  S.  Calwell,  Esquire,  President,  Corn 
Exchange  National  Bank,  Philadelphia. 

Mrs.  Smith:  We  have  a  long  programme  before  us  and  a  very  interest- 
ing one.  Mr.  Benjamin  did  not  use  his  lantern  this  afternoon.  He  is  going 
to  run  over  briefly  some  of  the  slides  that  he  has  brought  with  him,  which 
I  am  sure  will  prove  very  instructive.  Then  we  are  going  to  have  the  milk 
question  and  I  hope  we  will  have  a  very  interesting  meeting  and  that 
everybody  will  say  anything  that  is  in  their  minds.  Being  a  farmer  myself, 
I  have  a  great  weakness  for  the  Egg  Association  at  Cornell,  because  I 
cannot  raise  more  than  about  fifty  chickens.  I  would  like  somebody  to 
come  in  my  neighborhood  and  show  me  how  to  handle  the  situation,  the 
output;  get  it  to  the  markets,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing. 

Mr.  Benjamin:  This  afternoon  I  talked  on  the  subject  of  "Marketing 
Eggs"  and  dwelt  to  quite  an  extent  with  the  co-operative  association  which 
was  started  at  the  Cornell  University  among  the  farmers.  This  evening  I 
have  a  few  slides  dealing  with  this  co-operative  organization  on  general 
marketing  principles.  If  there  are  any  questions  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  you 
bring  them  up  within  the  limited  time  that  I  have.  The  organization  which 
we  have  at  Ithaca,  while  it  is  purely  local,  we  are  organizmg  it  with  the 
idea  of  its  being  adaptable  to  other  parts  of  the  state.  The  organization  is 
simply  an  organization  among  producers  and  is  designed  for  the  inter- 
change of  ideas,  and  deals  with  conditions  where  we  have  small  farms,  with 
very  small  flocks,  in  most  cases  35  to  50  hens  on  a  farm.  We  have  some 
farmers  who  specialize  with  75  to  1,000  or  2,000  hens,  but  what  we  have  to 
do  is  to  help  the  small  farmers  with  25  or  50  hens,  help  them  in  getting  the 
eggs  together  and  getting  them  to  the  consumers  either  through  the  whole- 
sale dealers  or  direct  to  the  consumer.  We  have  various  dealers:  the 
country  huckster,  the  country  store  and  the  small  city  jobber.  Most  of 
those  are  superfluous  and  should  not  be  needed. 

[Mr.  Benjamin  at  this  point  used  his  lantern  slides  in  a  practical 
demonstration  of  the  work  of  the  association  at  Cornell.] 

D.  H.  Steffans,  Baltimore:  I  would  like  to  ask  a  question.  This 
afternoon  you  said  that,  as  compared  with  six  independent  dealers  in  a 
certain  field  competing  for  the  eggs  of  the  farmers,  there  was  a  tendency 
to  co-operate  because  of  the  lack  of  efiiciency.     Is  that  correct? 

(71) 


72 


Mr.  Benjamin:  Yes,  sir. 


Mr.  Steffans  :  Mr.  Opperman  said  that  this  lack  of  efficiency  under 
the  present  methods  cost  us  for  eggs  about  $45,000,000  a  year.  I  so 
understood  him.  I  can't  understand  why,  in  a  co-operation  of  farmers 
to  deliver  their  eggs  to  one  point,  there  should  be  any  lack  of  efficiency, 
providing  they  use  part  of  their  profits  to  pay  the  manager  and  secure 
efficient  management  in  that  way.  How  should  there  in  that  case  be  a 
lack  of  efficiency? 

Mr.  Benjamin:  The  manager's  salary  depends  on  the  profit  which 
is  made. 

Mr.  Steffans  :  Or  give  him  a  share  of  the  profits  as  salary. 

Mr.  Benjamin:  Yes,  that  would  be  a  very  good  way  of  overcoming 
that  to  some  extent.  What  I  meant  to  bring  out  was  that  when  we  hire 
a  man  to  do  a  job,  he  is  not  going  to  be  as  vitally  interested  as  though 
he  had  got  to  do  that  to  get  a  living,  but  if  his  salary  depends  on  the 
profits  that  he  makes  in  the  business,  his  efficiency  is  going  to  increase. 

Mr.  Steffans:  But  the  situation  at  present  is  this:  Your  six  inde- 
pendent dealers  purchasing  from  the  farmers  inevitably  form  a  combine 
to  fix  the  prices.  The  farmers  form  a  small  combine  and  do  business 
through  one  agency.  You  put  six  dealers  into  a  field  and  they  inevitably 
will  combine  to  fix  prices  and  grades. 

Mr.  Benjamin:  I  do  not  know  of  any  such  combination  in  our 
particular  locality,  although  that  perhaps  exists.  Perhaps  there  is  no 
actual  combination,  but  possibly  there  is  an  understanding.  There  may 
be  something  like  that,  although  I  do  not  know  of  any  regular  agreement. 
Of  course,  we  have  lack  of  efficiency  due  to  duplication  work,  when  we 
have  several  competing  firms.  There  are  six  people  doing  the  work  which 
one  organization  might  do,  yet  perhaps  each  one  of  them  is  working 
harder  than  one  manager  would,  but  one  manager  might  be  more  efficient 
in  the  end. 

Mrs.  Smith:  We  will  now  hear  from  Dr.  Wilhams.  Dr.  Williams 
is  a  member  of  the  Rochester  Chamber  of  Commerce.  He  has  made  a 
very  close  study  of  the  economics  of  milk. 


THE  ECONOMICS  OF  THE  MILK  QUESTION. 


By  John  R.  Williams,  M.D., 
Secretary,  Milk  Commission,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 


For  twenty-five  years  or  more  cities  have  been  struggling  to  get  pure 
milk  and  thus  far  few  have  succeeded.  Why  have  they  failed?  The 
answer  to  this  important  question  is  the  theme  of  this  discussion.  Since 
the  very  beginning  of  community  life  to  the  present  day,  the  business 
of  producing  and  marketing  milk,  with  few  exceptions,  has  been  in  the 
hands  of  a  large  number  of  men,  each  carrying  on  his  share  of  the  industry 
in  his  own  way,  duplicating  in  every  detail  all  the  labor  and  equipment 
of  his  fellow  workers,  with  no  thought  of  co-operation  or  co-ordination 
of  effort,  paying  httle  heed  to  the  laws  of  economy  and  efficiency  and 
frequently  subordinating  the  needs  of  the  community  to  his  own  gain. 

For  years  the  community  has  been  oblivious,  utterly  unmindful  of 
the  treatment  it  has  been  accorded.  It  has  left  the  solution  of  its  health 
problems,  particularly  the  milk  question,  to  a  few  sanitarians  and  the 
sanitarians  have  thus  far  failed  to  solve  it.  The  ever-increasing  cost  of 
living  and  the  frequently  reported  epidemics  of  disease  and  deaths  due 
to  bad  milk  are  rousing  the  consumer  from  his  lethargy  so  that  today  the 
doctor  is  being  pushed  to  one  side  of  the  stage,  the  mother,  the  business 
man,  the  professional  man,  the  mechanic,  indeed  the  whole  community 
are  coming  on  the  platform.  They  are  demanding  to  know  what  is  the 
matter.  Hence  this  conference  of  diversified  interests  and  the  many 
similar  conventions  which  are  being  held  throughout  this  country.  The 
failure  of  the  individual  to  meet  fairly  and  adequately  the  needs  of  the 
community,  more  than  any  other  reason,  is  responsible  for  the  rise  of 
sociaUsm  and  similar  poUtical  philosophy.  Hence  if  we,  as  individuals, 
wish  to  preserve  our  identities  as  such,  if  we  wish  to  continue  the  milk 
industry  as  a  private  enterprise,  we  must  get  our  ears  to  the  ground, 
we  must  accept  the  challenge  of  the  community,  we  must  solve  the  milk 
problem. 

What  is  the  milk  problem  of  the  community?  Briefly,  it  is  securing 
an  abundant  supply  of  pure  milk  at  a  reasonably  low  cost.  It  is  not 
enough  to  secure  pure  milk;  it  must  be  so  low  in  cost  to  the  consumer 
that  it  may  be  plentifully  available  in  every  home.  The  water  problem 
of  the  city  is  not  solved  when  the  rich  drink  the  bottled  waters  of  the 
distant  springs  while  the  less  fortimate  are  compelled  to  use  the  con- 
taminated waters  of  the  community.  No  more  is  the  milk  problem  solved 
when  certified  milk  is  made  available  for  the  well-to-do,  while  the  poor 

(73) 


74 

must  use  questionable  market  milk.  Milk  must  not  only  be  pure  but 
it  must  be  within  reach  of  the  man  in  average  circumstances.  The  milk 
problem,  therefore,  has  economic  as  well  as  sanitary  importance.  Indeed, 
since  I  have  been  studying  the  question,  I  have  come  to  believe  that  it  is 
mainly  an  economic  question. 

For  years  we  have  been  wrestling  with  the  problem  in  Rochester 
as  you  have  in  Philadelphia.  We  had  always  looked  at  the  problem  from 
the  standpoint  of  bacteria  and  infant  mortality  and  we  made  little  head- 
way. A  year  or  so  ago  we  began  to  view  it  as  a  business  proposition; 
and  because  of  our  failures  along  sanitary  lines,  we  made  an  economic 
survey  of  the  entire  dairy  industry  as  it  affected  our  city,  and  this  is  what 
we  found.  We  discovered  that  upwards  of  800  farmers  were  producing 
milk  for  our  city,  many  of  whom  were  shipping  milk  to  you  also,  so  that 
we  have  a  mutual  interest  in  this  investigation.  Most  of  these  men  are 
dissatisfied  with  the  business.  In  a  study  of  western  and  central  New 
York  we  found  that  a  large  number  of  farmers  had  given  up  wholly  or 
partly  the  milk  business.  Of  674  farms  offered  for  sale,  439  were  dairy 
farms.  We  found  the  farmers  complaining  of  scarcity  of  labor,  and  as  a 
result  they  were  not  cultivating  their  tillable  land.  We  found  them  buy- 
ing expensive  cattle  feeds  instead  of  raising  them.  We  found  them  breed- 
ing low-grade  stock,  using  scrub  bulls  which  never  should  have  been 
permitted  to  live.  We  found  them  taking  no  pains  to  keep  disease,  par- 
ticularly the  dreadful  tuberculosis,  out  of  their  herds.  We  found  them 
each  one  drawing  a  few  cans  of  milk  down  the  same  road  to  the  little 
railroad  stations  for  shipment  to  the  city.  We  found  many  other  wastes 
and  duplication  of  effort. 

Why  were  these  farmers  doing  these  things  in  such  a  poor  and  un- 
satisfactory way?  The  answer  invariably  was  that  the  business  from 
their  point  of  view  was  not  sufficiently  profitable  to  make  it  worth  while 
for  them  to  do  it  in  any  other  way  and  that  they  could  not  do  otherwise 
than  subordinate  dairying  to  their  other  farm  work.  The  results  of  our 
investigation  gave  support  to  these  contentions. 

At  the  present  time  the  producer  does  not  receive  for  his  product 
a  due  proportion  of  the  revenue  paid  by  the  ultimate  consumer.  At 
least  this  would  appear  to  be  the  case  when  his  risk,  investment  and 
labor  are  contrasted  with  that  of  the  distributor  in  the  city  who  takes 
for  his  services  one-half  of  the  proceeds  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  milk. 
The  average  yearly  price  paid  the  producer  for  milk  is  four  cents  per 
quart;  the  average  retail  price  received  by  the  distributor  is  eight  cents 
per  quart.  The  average  investment  required  for  operating  a  dairy  farm 
in  western  New  York,  producing  160  quarts  of  milk  daily,  is  $9,000.  One 
dealer  in  the  city  can  easily  deliver  the  milk  of  three  such  farms.  His 
total  investment  rarely  exceeds  $2,500.  Thus,  three  farmers  in  the 
country  with  an  average  investment  of  $27,000  receive  no  more  for  their 
product  than  does  one  distributor  in  the  city  with  not  more  than  one- 


75 

tenth  the  investment.  Furthermore,  the  risks  and  labor  of  the  farmer 
are  correspondingly  greater. 

There  are  some  points  about  dairying,  however,  which  the  producer 
cannot  afford  to  overlook.  The  milk  business  is  an  all-year-round  occupa- 
tion for  him.  It  keeps  his  labor  constantly  employed.  It  is  a  continuous 
source  of  income;  and  when  properly  conducted,  it  adds  to  the  produc- 
tivity of  his  farm.  If  milk  producers,  instead  of  acting  as  a  large  number 
of  individual  competitive  units,  each  duphcating  the  labor  and  equip- 
ment of  his  neighbor,  were  to  co-operate  and  co-ordinate  their  efforts, 
they  could  lessen  both  the  cost  of  milk  production  and  make  it  more 
profitable. 

This  can  be  done  and,  to  a  limited  extent,  is  being  done  by  the  forma- 
tion of  cow-testing  associations,  co-operative  associations  for  buying 
feed,  bedding  and  by  the  breeding  of  high-grade  stock.  Another  material 
saving  could  be  made  by  establishing  co-operative  milk  receiving  stations 
at  convenient  railroad  points  where  milk  could  be  received,  tested  and 
paid  for  on  the  basis  of  quality  and  purity,  where  cans  and  pails  could 
be  sterilized,  thus  doing  away  with  expensive  equipment  of  the  farm, 
and  by  the  collection  of  milk  on  one  or  two  trucks  instead  of  each  pro- 
ducer hauling  his  fraction  of  a  load  to  the  railroad.  In  short,  the  producer 
must  study  the  economics  of  his  business,  he  must  check  the  waste  and 
the  losses  before  the  community  will  listen  sympathetically  to  his  plea 
for  more  remuneration. 

In  the  city  we  find  the  business  of  distributing  milk  in  the  hands  of 
a  large  number  of  small  dealers.  There  is  a  different  dealer  for  every 
200  famihes  and  a  different  milk  wagon,  horse  and  driver  for  every  125 
families.  If  milk  were  economically  distributed,  one  horse,  wagon  and 
driver  should  be  able  to  supply  at  least  400  families.  On  most  of  our 
city  streets  we  have  a  different  milk  company  for  every  two  to  ten  homes. 
In  many  cases  several  milk  men  will  be  found  supplying  one  home.  In 
one  small  home  we  discovered  that  nine  peddlers  were  each  leaving  one 
pint  daily. 

This  overlapping  in  routes  means  a  tremendous  waste  in  labor  and 
equipment.  By  actual  computation  we  determined  that  the  total  travel 
of  these  dealers  is  from  ten  to  twenty  times  further  than  it  would  need 
be  were  a  single  dealer  to  supply  a  given  section  in  an  economical  manner. 
The  same  wasteful  method  of  delivery  is  employed  in  most  of  the  cities 
of  the  United  States,  as  was  determined  by  the  writer  in  a  recent  investi- 
gation of  this  subject.  In  the  few  very  large  cities  of  this  country  where 
great  milk  companies  are  to  be  found,  this  waste  is  not  so  evident,  but 
in  the  smaller  cities  and  towns  it  is  quite  common.     (See  Tables  I  and  II.) 

The  waste  in  milk  distribution  is  by  no  means  confined  to  street 
equipment.  Each  of  these  small  dealers  operates  a  small  milk  room  or 
depot  in  which  will  be  found  the  apparatus  necessary  for  the  bottling 
and  storing  of  milk.    As  a  rule,  these  milk  rooms  are  located  in  one  section 


76 

of  the  barn  or  in  a  wing  attached  to  the  family  dwelUng.  The  apparatus 
is  usually  of  the  crudest  character,  and  yet  in  the  aggregate  it  represents 
an  investment  far  in  excess  of  what  would  be  needed  to  equip  a  sufficient 
number  of  model  sanitary  plants  were  the  business  of  distribution  cen- 
tralized. It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  refer  to  the  unsanitary  character 
and  unfitness  of  the  majority  of  these  milk  depots.  For  most  of  the 
small  dealers  the  margin  of  profit  is  so  slender  and  the  risks  and  losses 
so  great  that  it  may  be  said  to  be  a  most  precarious  business.  (See 
Table  III.) 

When  a  milk  business  is  unprofitable  there  is  a  great  temptation  on 
the  part  of  the  dealer  to  repair  his  losses  by  adulterating  his  milk, 
abstracting  cream  from  it,  selling  left-over  milk  as  the  fresh  article,  steal- 
ing bottles  and  so  on.  Milk  dealers,  as  everyone  knows,  sometimes  yield 
to  these  temptations,  and  they  should  not  be  too  severely  censured  there- 
for because  they  are  the  victims  of  a  badly  organized  industry. 

The  loss  from  the  present  uneconomical  and  wasteful  method  of 
milk  distribution  in  the  majority  of  American  cities  is  very  great.  It  is 
safe  to  say  that  in  Rochester  it  amounts  to  at  least  half  a  million  dollars 
yearly,  which  means  that  the  consumer  pays  nearly  two  cents  per  quart 
more  for  his  milk  than  he  would  need  to  were  sensible  methods  employed. 
Were  this  great  yearly  loss  to  benefit  even  a  few  individuals  in  the  com- 
munity, it  might,  in  a  measure,  be  condoned.  However,  except  in  the 
instance  of  the  very  large  companies,  the  business  has  not  proven  to  be 
very  remunerative. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  present  system  of  milk  distribution  has  a 
three-fold  evil  effect  on  the  municipal  supply: 

It  leaves  the  business  of  marketing  milk  in  the  hands  of  a  lot  of 
untrained  men  who  have  no  idea  of  sanitation,  no  adequate  sanitary 
equipment,  all  of  which  is  directly  reflected  in  the  quality  of  the  milk. 

It  affords  such  a  meager  living  to  the  majority  of  small  dealers  that 
it  tends  to  make  them  dishonest  and  to  employ  unscrupulous  methods  in 
their  business  operations. 

It  imposes  an  unnecessary  tax  on  the  whole  community. 

If  this  extravagant  method  of  delivery  were  to  be  supplanted  by 
one  in  which  a  single  efficient  agency  were  to  have  control,  it  would  bring 
about  three  desired  ends. 

It  would  make  it  possible  for  the  consumer  to  get  pure  milk  for  at 
least  one  cent  per  quart  less  than  he  now  pays  for  questionable  milk. 

It  would  enable  the  farmer  to  get  a  half  cent  more  per  quart  for  his 
product,  and  this  additional  half  cent  to  the  farmer  would  make  it  worth 
while  for  him  to  rid  his  herd  of  tuberculosis  and  to  do  many  things  which 
are  now  neglected  because  of  the  scanty  profits  in  milk  production. 

It  would  make  a  profitable  business  for  one  distributing  agency, 
besides  giving  it  a  dignity  and  standing  in  the  community  that  would  not 
be  exceeded  by  any  other  public  utility  service. 


77 

The  consumer  has  a  responsibiUty  in  the  milk  problem  which  should 
not  be  overlooked.  Dairying  is  the  only  business  which  is  not  compen- 
sated on  the  basis  of  merit.  Every  other  commodity  in  use  is  valued 
according  to  its  quality.  This  is  true  of  sugar,  meat,  fruit,  vegetables 
and  so  on,  but  it  is  not  true  of  milk.  Practically  all  milk  is  sold  on  the 
same  basis.  The  community  does  not  distinguish  in  either  price  or 
patronage  between  the  producer  who  makes  clean  milk,  rich  in  butter 
fat,  under  sanitary  conditions,  and  that  of  the  farmer  whose  milk  is  of 
uncertain  quality.  Nevertheless  the  cost  of  milk  production,  like  other 
commodities,  varies  according  to  the  diligence  of  the  operator  and  the 
care  which  he  bestows  on  his  work. 

A  milk  which  contains  five  per  cent  of  butter  fat  is  much  more 
nourishing  than  is  one  which  contains  only  three  per  cent  and  is  there- 
fore more  valuable.  At  the  present  time  the  community  makes  no  dis- 
tinctions on  this  basis  and  pays  as  much  for  a  milk  poor  in  cream  as  it 
does  one  which  contains  a  high  percentage.  Certain  types  of  dairy  cattle 
produce  large  volumes  of  milk  of  a  low  fat  percentage.  Other  types 
produce  smaller  quantities  of  milk  with  higher  fat  percentage.  Under 
the  present  method  of  buying  and  selling,  the  farmer  is  encouraged  to 
propagate  the  first-»mentioned  type  of  cattle.  The  obvious  conclusion 
from  this  is  that  milk  should  be  bought  and  sold  on  the  basis  of  its 
nutritive  value  and  not  according  to  its  mere  bulk.  It  may  be  said, 
therefore,  that  the  community  by  its  method  of  purchasing  milk  without 
reference  to  its  food  value,  and  without  discriminating  between  the 
different  grades  of  milk,  puts  a  premium  on  bad  methods  of  farm  manage- 
ment and  inferior  products. 

Those  seriously  interested  in  the  milk  industry  and  who  have  its  wel- 
fare at  heart  can  ill  afford  to  much  longer  delay  attacking  these  funda- 
mental evils.  As  before  mentioned,  if  the  individual  interests  cannot  or 
will  not  make  pure  milk  possible  at  a  reasonable  cost  for  all  the  commu- 
nity, then  the  community  itself  will  take  it  in  hand.  This  would  not  be 
a  revolutionary  thing  to  do,  for  nearly  every  city  in  the  United  States  at 
the  present  time  is  engaged  in  doing  this  very  thing.  Milk  stations 
operated  by  the  city  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  are  now  nearly  as  common 
as  schools.  The  establishing  of  milk  depots  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole 
community  would  not  mean  the  adoption  of  a  new  form  of  government, 
but  rather  a  question  of  arithmetic;  not  one  of  abstract  political  philos- 
ophy, but  rather  a  matter  of  self-defense  and  simple  mmibers.  I  repeat, 
the  question  of  pure  milk  is  of  vital  public  concern.  Those  engaged  in 
the  industry  should  solve  it  with  the  aid  of  the  community.  They  can 
scarcely  afford  to  do  otherwise. 

[From  this  point  on,  Dr.  Williams  illustrated  his  remarks  by  the  use 
of  the  stereopticon.] 


78 


Table  I. — Showing  the  Excessive  and  Unnecessary  TkafI^ic  by  the  Present 
Milk  Distributors  in  Rochester,  N.  Y. 


Sections  of  City  Studied. 

Number  of 

Homes 
Supplied  by 
Distributors. 

Number  of 
Distributors 
in  Section. 

Miles  One 

Distributor 

would  Travel 

in  Supplying 

Section, 

MUes  Present 

Distributor 

Travels  in 

Supplying 

Section. 

Chiefly  colored 

165 

23 
55 
40 
27 
39 
14 
51 
57 
39 
26 
25 
17 
34 
31 
62 

2                             9.0 

American  laboring 

432 
340 
273 
508 
120 
353 
363 
145 
443 
166 
91 
216 
167 
786 

3 
3 
2  6 

45 

American  laboring 

30 

Well-to-do 

94 

German- American  laboring 

Well-to-do 

4.4                   61 
1  2                    12 

Italian  laboring 

3                       36 

Jewish  laboring 

1  7                   30 

German  laboring 

17         '          20 

American  middle 

2  4         1          48 

Well-to-do 

2  5                   21 

Well-to-do 

2                       14 

Well-to-do     

2  5                   38 

American  laboring 

American  laboring 

1.7         1          21 
5.4                   57 

Table  II. — Showing  Amount  of  Milk  Used,   Number  of  Dealers  and  Milk 
Wagons  Employed  in  Distribution  in  Various  American  Cities. 


City. 


Chicago .... 
Philadelphia 

Boston 

Cleveland .  . 
Baltimore .  . 

Buffalo 

Rochester.  . 
Syracuse .  .  . 
Youngstown 

Erie 

Harrisburg . 


Population. 


2,000,000 

1,632,000 

735,000 

600,000 

570,000 

445,000 

225,000 

150,000 

100,000 

71,000 

67,000 


Milk  Used 
Daily, 
Quarts. 


1,024,000 

500,000 

271,000 

100,000 

121,000 

140,000 

90,000 

42,000 

48,000 

25,000 

20,400 


Total 
Number 
Dealers. 


1,300 
450 
257 
441 
204 
260 
220 

78 
170 

59 
195 


Total 
Number 
Wagons. 


3,000 
1,500* 
641 
641 

487 


Average 

Number 

Quarts 

per  Wagon, 


270 
265 
230 
125 
195 


Average 

Number 

Families 

per  Wagon. 


450 

250 

360 

200 

194 

170 

185 

210 

90 

225 

195* 

85 

135 
215 
230 
185 
235 
200 
125 
155 
108 
160 


Note. — The  data  for  this  table  was  supplied  by  the  departments  of  health  of  the  various  cities.  At 
least  20  per  cent  of  the  total  milk  supply  of  each  city  is  used  in  wholesale  trade  or  for  manufacturing  pur- 
poses.    This  allowance  is  made  in  computing  domestic  distribution. 

*  Estimated.      Data  not  obtainable. 


79 


Table  III. — Showing  the  Total  Accounting  of  Milk  Distributors  in 
Rochester,  Grouped  According  to  the  Volume  op  Business  Done. 


Schedules. 


Distributors number 

Milk,  retail quarts 

Milk,  wholesale quarts 

Total  milk  sold quarts 

Men  employed number 

Horses  employed number 

Wagons  employed number 

Length  of  route miles 

Customers number 


Value  milk-room  equipment . 
Value  horses  and  wagons .  .  . 
Value  real  estate 


Total-  investment . 


Interest,  depreciation  on  investment 

Cost  of  coal  and  ice 

Milk  shrinkage,  waste,  etc 

Maintenance  horse  and  wagon . . . 

Daily  wages,  labor 

Cost  of  bottles 


Total  cost  distribution. 
Amount  paid  producer 


Total  cost  to  distributor. 


Milk  receipts,  retail 

Milk  receipts,  wholesale , 
Cream  receipts 


Total  receipts .  . 

Labor  profit 

Labor  loss 

Average  labor  profit . 


Distributors  Selling  Daily- 


Not  More      From  151 
than  150  to  300 

Quarts.  Quarts. 


251 


101 


2,887 
129 


3,016 


29 

34 

26 

199 

1,885 


$2,407 
8,815 


$11,222 


$6.17 
8.92 
4.35 

25.30 
5.60 
7.38 


$57.72 
128.71 


$186.43 


$213.31 
1.00 
6.75 


$220.06 

37.59 

3.96 

1.34 


21,368 
2,411 


23,799 


133 

160 

137 

1,053 

13,915 


$17,295 
45,105 


From  301 
to  1,000 
Quarts. 


44 


17,180 
3.415 


20,599 


99 
101 

92 

616 

9,490 


$16,750 
28,495 


$62,400 


$34.17 
42.25 
36.59 

152.50 
48.95 
77.36 


$44,245 


$25.16 
39.03 
28.55 

101.00 

74.20 
74.89 


$392.82  $342.83 
999.55   880.44 


$1,392.37  $1,223.27 


$1,535.05 

138.26 

60.84 


$1,734.15 
341.78 


$1,254.67 
195.87 
106.20 


3.38 


$1,556.74 
333.47 


7.58 


1,000 

Quarts 

or  More. 


8,900 
6,000 


14,900 


95 

65 

50 

641 

9,800 


$38,450 
25,035 
96,700 


$160,185 


$45.15 

17.20 

14.55 

100.00 

193.06 

21.00 


$390.98 
886.40 


$1,277.38 


$682.00 

314.50 

67.51 


$1,366.01 

78.58 


26.19 


Total. 


173 


50,335 
11,947 


62,314 


356 

360 

305 

2,509 

35,090 


$76,902 

107,450 

96,700 


$278,052 


$110.65 
107.40 
84.04 
378.80 
321.81 
180.63 


$1,184.35 
2,895.10 


$4,079.45 


$3,685.03 
548.63 
241.50 

$4,876.96 
791.42 


80 

Mrs.  Smith:  We  would  like  to  have  some  discussion  on  this  question 
by  the  milkmen  present  and  the  consumers.  Dr.  Williams  would  be  glad 
to  answer  any  questions  asked  of  him. 

Mr.  Pile:  Instead  of  173  dealers,  if  there  were  only  one  dealer,  what 
would  they  pay  for  the  milk  in  Rochester? 

Dr.  Williams:  One  of  the  large  distributing  companies  that  have 
followed  this  question  very  closely  and  assisted  me  in  following  this  investi- 
gation put  at  my  disposal  their  equipment.  They  told  me  that  if  they  could 
secure  any  part  of  the  city  which  would  enable  them  to  operate  satis- 
factorily, they  would  be  willing  to  sell  their  very  best  milk  for  seven  cents 
a  quart.  They  would  make  a  one  cent  reduction  in  the  cost  of  distributing 
the  milk  and  give  the  consumer  something  he  is  not  getting  now.  That  is 
the  answer  this  company  made  to  me  and  that  is  the  proposal  they  made  to 
me,  providing  I  could  find  a  market  for  their  milk. 

Mr.  Pile  :  Would  they  not  take  the  cost  off  the  producer? 

Dr.  Williams:  No,  I  am  not  in  favor  of  that.  I  think  the  producer 
ought  to  get  more  for  his  milk. 

Mr.  Pile:  Would  that  not  be  the  rule? 

Dr.  Williams  :  If  that  phase  were  not  safeguarded  in  some  way.  I 
find  this,  that  in  the  competition  between  the  producers  and  the  distributors, 
I  do  not  believe  this  problem  will  be  solved  until  some  harmony  is  developed. 
The  Western  New  York  Shippers'  Association  meets  several  times  a  year 
for  the  main  purpose  of  conspiring  how  to  get  the  better  of  the  distributors; 
and  the  distributors  meet  once  a  month  for  the  same  purpose.  It  would 
not  be  necessary  to  overthrow  any  existing  government  to  introduce 
harmony.  Nearly  every  city  in  the  United  States  is  engaged  today  in  the , 
milk  business.  We  have  almost  as  many  milk  stations  in  Rochester  run 
by  the  city  for  the  sale  of  milk  for  the  poor  as  we  have  school  houses.  So 
it  would  not  be  a  question  of  abstract  philosophy. 

Mr.  Felix  Albright:  A  number  of  years  ago  there  was  an  organiza- 
tion of  farmers  to  raise  the  price  of  milk.  What  did  dealers  do  in  Phila- 
delphia? They  went  400  miles  into  the  State  of  New  York  to  get  milk 
down  here  to  destroy  the  organization.  It  cost  them  more  money  than  it 
does  now.  They  paid  six  cents  a  quart  for  New  York  milk  and  won't  give 
us  but  4|.  They  tried  to  kill  us  all.  They  have  gone  to  work  and  got  an 
ordinance  passed  that  the  milk  must  come  down  here  in  a  refrigerator  car. 
One  of  our  committee  bought  a  quart  of  milk  of  a  dealer  in  Philadelphia 
and  he  had  the  doctor  look  at  that  milk  and  it  looked  very  pure.  No  doubt 
he  had  extracted  some  of  the  cream,  and  it  generated  enough  gas  in  fifteen 
minutes  to  blow  the  cork  up  to  the  ceiling.  I  was  introduced  to  one  of 
the  best  chemists  in  Philadelphia.  Afterwards  the  government  secured 
his  services.  I  was  introduced  to  him  and  he  said,  ''I  will  show  you  what 
the  people  are  buying  for  evaporated  cream,  which  is  nothing  but  four  per 


81 

cent  milk,  thickened  with  starch  and  chrome  yellow."  If  you  can  get  better 
milk  than  you  did  out  of  the  small  dealers,  handling  three  or  four  small 
dairies,  I  do  not  know  where  it  is  going  to  come  from.  We  have  some  good 
•particular  farmers  who  have  good  cattle  and  are  taking  good  care  of  them, 
and  then  we  have  great  big  dairies  that  do  not  get  much  care.  One  of  the 
best  milk  producers,  a  man  in  Burlington,  where  Mr.  Supplee  gets  milk 
from,  is  going  out  of  business  because  he  cannot  get  help.  He  bought 
milk  machinery,  yet  he  can't  get  help.  The  greatest  problem  in  the  world 
is  to  secure  help.  Men  are  going  out  of  the  milk  business  because  they  can't 
get  enough  to  produce  the  article  that  the  Board  of  Health  wants  sent  to 
the  city.  They  require  too  much  of  the  producer.  They  will  send  a  man 
out  on  your  farms  who  will  talk  about  tuberculosis.  A  cow  that  is  affected 
with  tuberculosis  does  not  give  enough  to  pay  for  her  feed,  and  away  she 
goes.  We  don't  want  her.  We  are  just  as  particular  to  keep  away  from 
tuberculosis  as  anybody.  We  don't  want  to  see  it.  If  you  let  the  wind 
blow  on  a  cow  for  six  hours,  she  will  not  give  the  proper  yield — they  require 
so  much.  You  might  think  we  would  have  to  spray  the  cows  with 
rose  water  and  cologne.  They  speak  about  better  cattle.  I  have  some  of 
the  finest  Jersey  cattle  that  stand  on  the  ground.  BurlingtoD  County  had 
the  reputation  of  sending  the  best  iced  car  milk  to  Philadelphia  some  five 
years  ago,  and  George  Abbott  secured  the  majority  of  that  milk.  He  and 
Supplee  are  the  best  men  in  Philadelphia  and  pay  the  best  price  for  the 
milk  that  they  get.  Some  men  get  it  and  just  keep  inside  the  law.  They 
talk  a  great  deal  about  milk.  We  had  a  man  who  was  paid  about  fifty 
dollars  to  come  down  and  talk  the  money  side  of  the  milk  pail.  There  is 
no  money  side  for  the  producer  and  that  is  the  reason  he  is  going  out  of 
business. 

Mks.  Smith:  We  have  got  about  two  minutes  for  one  or  two  dis- 
cussions. 

Mr.  Stepfans:  I  have  made  a  little  study  of  the  milk  question.  As 
was  so  very  correctly  put  by  the  speaker,  the  production  of  pure  milk 
at  such  a  price  as  the  city  can  afford  to  pay  is  the  problem,  and  it  will  be 
solved  only  when  the  city  producer  and  the  country  producer  co-operate. 
To  illustrate  the  point,  we  in  Baltimore  have  an  immense  tobacco  ware- 
house, in  which  the  tobacco  from  the  entire  state  is  sent,  graded  and  sold. 
We  make  our  milk  producers  ship  in  milk,  put  it  on  an  ordinary  uncovered 
platform,  and  very  often  these  cans  stand  out  in  the  sun.  The  city  inspector 
is  running  from  can  to  can  with  his  thermometer,  and  if  it  is  above  60 
degrees,  he  dumps  it  out  in  the  gutter  and  the  man  has  no  redress.  When 
we  come  to  realize  that  we  owe  to  the  milk  producer  to  take  as  much  pains 
with  the  milk  that  he  sends  us  as  we  take  with  that  tobacco,  then  we  shall 
have  taken  the  first  step  at  least  towards  helping  him  in  getting  pure  milk. 
The  ordinary  municipal  health  department,  with  all  its  milk  legislation, 
says  to  that  man,  " Thou  shalt  not  do  that;  we  will  fine  you.    Do  that,  and 


'82 

we  will  dump  out  your  milk."  When  did  they  ever  try  to  co-operate? 
When  did  he  ever  erect  a  municipal  receiving  station  at  which  the  utensils 
could  be  properly  sterilized  before  they  are  sent  back  to  him?  Where  is 
the  municipality  that  attempted  to  do  that?  Where  is  the  municipality 
that  ever  erected  a  municipal  receiving  station  out  in  the  country  to  try 
to  organize  the  milk  business  and  try  to  co-operate  with  the  farmer  so  that 
the  man  could  profitably  sell  milk  at  four  cents  a  quart?  Where  is  the 
municipality  that  will  pay  a  premium  for  a  low  bacteria  count  and  a  high 
butter  count?  We  owe  it  to  the  milk  producer  and  farmer  to  try  to  co- 
operate with  him,  instead  of  simply  saying,  ''Thou  shalt  not."  Sending 
inspectors  chasing  around  the  farm,  trying  to  tell  him  that  he  must  do 
things  which  he  often  himself  does  not  fully  understand ! 

Mks.  Smith:  I  would  like  to  hear  some  of  the  milk  dealers  tell  us 
whether  they  think  it  would  be  feasible  to  simplify  the  delivery  of  milk  in 
cities  having  it  delivered  from  one  wagon.  That  proposition  has  been 
offered  in  some  of  the  cities.  Do  the  milk  dealers  think  such  a  scheme 
would  be  feasible? 

Mr.  Harbison:  We  think  it  desirable  but  not  feasible.  Where  you 
have  173  retailers,  how  are  you  going  to  eliminate  172?  According  to 
the  figures  quoted,  the  delivery  of  milk  in  Rochester  amounts  to  about 
63,000  quarts  a  day,  and  90  teams  could  deliver  the  milk.  That  is  approxi- 
mately 700  quarts  on  a  wagon.  I  presume  in  Rochester  you  have  pint 
jars  as  well  as  quart.  We  know  that  700  quarts  of  milk  to  a  wagon,  if 
you  serve  every  day,  is  not  practical,  speaking  from  a  practical  standpoint. 
If  you  will  ask  every  one  of  those  173  dealers  whether  they  would  like  to 
have  all  the  business,  each  fellow  will  tell  you  yes,  I  would  request  the  other 
172  to  retire.  Of  course  it  is  more  economical  if  we  serve  at  every  doorstep, 
but  how  are  you  going  to  eliminate  them?  How  is  it  feasible  to  eliminate 
the  other  fellow?  If  you  people  from  Rochester  can  let  me  know  how  to 
make  some  money  on  the  distribution  of  milk,  we  will  be  obliged  to  you. 

Mrs.  Smith:  The  figures  Dr.  Williams  gave  are  very  interesting.  It 
requires  a  $9,000  investment  to  have  a  plant  which  will  produce  150  quarts 
a  day.  It  is  very  interesting  to  know  that.  I  would  like  very  much  to  hear 
what  the  milk  dealers  have  to  say  of  the  comparison  between  the  farmers' 
investment  and  other  investments.  I  have  no  doubt  that  some  of  the 
gentlemen  here  tonight  have  tremendous  investments. 

Mr.  George  Abbott:  I  think  I  can  best  illustrate  the  point  by  calling 
attention  to  the  ice  dealers.  They  invest  about  $5,000  or  $4,000  on  an  ice 
plant,  gather  the  ice,  and  the  ice  dealer  comes  along  with  a  $400  team,  horse 
and  wagon,  and  takes  that  ice  to  the  city  and  distributes  it.  We  know 
perfectly  well  that  in  the  house  it  is  worth  about  $1  a  ton,  and  about  $2 
a  ton  hauled  in  the  city  and  retailed.  He  asks  at  least  $8  a  ton,  20  cents  a 
hundred.     He  retails  it  in  small  quantities  at  $12  a  ton.     The  difficulty  of 


83 

the  situation  is  he  is  conducting  a  very  bulky  and  a  very  wasteful  business, 
and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  is  collecting  from  the  consumer  five 
times  in  that  case  what  the  ice  costs  in  the  house,  and  notmthstanding 
that  is  only  one-fifth  the  investment,  he  still  does  not  get  rich.  That  is  the 
point.  With  regard  to  the  general  proposition,  I  think  we  need  consolida- 
tion, as  the  large  dealers  and  the  small  dealers  should  get  together  and  have 
a  central  plant.  When  we  get  to  that  happy  condition,  where  the  public 
will  let  us  work  out  our  own  salvation,  we  will  try  to  work  it  out,  but  the 
moment  that  we  consolidate  and  come  together,  some  newspaper  charges 
us  with  conspiracy  and  we  are  threatened  with  prosecution  under  the  anti- 
trust act,  and  consequently  we  are  debarred  from  a  combination.  It  is 
not  popular  in  these  days  to  combine.  We  must  go  on  in  the  old  expensive 
way,  and  perhaps  in  the  course  of  fifty  or  one  hundred  years  it  will  all  work 
out  satisfactorily,  but  by  that  time  some  of  us  will  be  under  the  ground,  I 
fear.  There  is  no  question  but  what  it  is  a  great  work.  It  is  well  said  that 
the  farmer  does  not  reckon  his  cost  as  he  should.  There  is  no  doubt  about 
that.  He  does  not  reckon  his  cost  as  the  manufacturer  does.  The  manu- 
facturer who  would  produce  upon  the  loose  methods  that  the  farmer  does 
would  go  to  the  wall  very  soon. 

In  the  matter  of  the  distribution  of  milk  there  has  been  very  great 
waste.  There  is  no  question  about  that.  In  running  a  dozen  wagons 
in  one  block  there  is  great  waste.  When  all  these  factors  are  reduced 
to  a  good  economical  shape,  the  farmer  will  get  more  for  his  milk  and  the 
producer  will  not  pay  more  for  it,  but  will  pay  for  what  it  is  worth.  They 
will  learn  to  distinguish,  as  was  drawn  out  here  tonight,  between  milk 
of  low  bacteria  count  and  high  fat  and  a  high  bacteria  count  and  low 
fat.  The  buyer  does  not  discriminate  and  consequently  we  have  a  condi- 
tion that  it  is  very  hard  to  get  along  with  or  to  get  results  from. 

Mrs.  Smith:  Professor  C.  W.  Larsen,  of  Pennsylvania  State  College, 
is  now  going  to  speak  to  us  on  the  "Cost  of  Milk  Production." 


THE  FEED  COST  OF  PRODUCING  MILK. 

(In  place  of  subject  announced  on  programme  as  "Market  Problems  of  the 

Milk  Question.") 


Carl  W.  Larsen, 
Dairy  Department,  Pennsylvania  State  College. 


There  are  at  the  present  time  933,640  dairy  cows  in  Pennsylvania, 
as  compared  with  943,773  ten  years  ago.  In  spite  of  this  decrease  in  the 
number  of  dairy  cows,  there  has  in  the  same  period  been  a  marked  increase 
in  the  demand  for  milk.  The  population  has  increased  from  6,302,115  to 
7,665,111  in  the  corresponding  years.  Millions  of  gallons  of  milk  are 
being  made  into  products  almost  unknown  ten  years  ago.  The  question 
naturally  arises,  ''Why  is  this  decrease?"  Certainly  the  farmers  of 
Pennsylvania  are  not  selling  their  cows  unless  there  is  more  profit  in  other 
lines  of  agriculture.  Will  this  <)ondition  continue,  or  what  will  be  the 
solution  of  the  difficulty?  There  is  no  other  product  of  the  farm  that  is 
more  important  or  more  necessary.     Milk  will  continue  to  be  produced. 

If  dairying  does  not  pay,  why  is  it  that  almost  without  exception  the 
dairy  farmers  of  a  country  are  prosperous  farmers?  The  dairy  localities, 
the  dairy  states  and  the  nations  in  which  dairying  is  carried  on  exten- 
sively are  usually  prosperous.  Some  will  answer  that  the  dairymen  made 
their  fortunes  when  feeds,  labor,  etc.,  were  cheap.  Others  contend  that 
by  working  365  days  in  the  year  and  by  having  the  women  and  children 
assist  with  the  milking  and  other  work  about  the  dairy,  the  combined 
labor  income  has  accumulated  until  they  have  more  wealth  than  their 
neighbors. 

I  am  not  prepared  to  offer  a  solution  for  this  important  problem. 
I  suggest,  however,  that  it  will  be  met  by  both  an  increase  in  price  and  a 
more  economical  production.  Milk,  on  the  average,  is  not  paid  for  in 
proportion  to  its  actual  food  value  when  compared  with  many  of  our 
other  food  products,  and  when  the  consumer  learns  this  he  will  be  willing 
to  pay  a  reasonable  price  for  it.  In  actual  food  value  a  quart  of  milk  is 
equivalent  to  three-quarters  of  a  pound  of  sirloin  steak. 

One  of  the  reasons  why  some  dairies  are  unprofitable  is  because  a 
wrong  system  is  being  maintained  for  a  particular  locality.  For  instance, 
an  intensive  system  is  many  times  practiced  where  the  cost  of  feed  and 
labor  is  high  and  the  price  of  milk  low.  A  dairy  farm,  on  which  the 
practice  is  to  feed  all  of  the  grain  to  the  cattle  and  at  the  same  time  pur- 
chase additional  concentrates  also  to  keep  the  cattle  in  the  stable  nearly 

(84) 


85 

all  the  year,  besides  hiring  men  to  devote  all  their  time  to  caring  for  the 
herd,  cannot  be  profitable  unless  a  good  price  is  secured  for  the  milk. 
Many  dairies  are  over-capitalized.  It  should  not  be  expected  that  cows 
worth  $100  should  return  a  profit  when  kept  in  a  bam  worth  from  $400 
to  $800  per  head. 

The  feed  cost  of  producing  milk  is  rapidly  increasing.  Bran  that  a 
few  years  ago  was  dumped  into  the  Mississippi  River  by  the  carload  is 
now  almost  too  expensive  to  feed,  while  cottonseed  meal,  which,  not  many 
years  ago,  could  be  had  for  about  the  cost  of  transportation  now  sells  for 
more  than  $30  per  ton  and  at  that  price  furnishes  protein  cheaper  than 
any  other  grain  feed.  Careful  feeding  and  a  study  of  the  feeds  available 
are  necessary. 

The  dairy  cow  is  a  machine  and  a  marvelous  one.  In  nature  she  was 
intended  to  furnish  enough  milk  to  supply  her  calf,  but  by  careful  breed- 
ing, feeding  and  selection  man  has  developed  a  machine  that  can  produce 
enough  milk  to  feed  ten  calves.  A  cow  must  be  fed  a  balanced  ration. 
She  must  be  given  a  sufficient  amount  of  the  necessary  elements  to  main- 
tain her  body  and  produce  milk.  A  certain  amount  of  protein  and  energy 
is  necessary  to  maintain  the  animal  and  a  definite  additional  amount  for 
milk  in  proportion  to  the  amount  produced.  A  wheel  maker  with  enough 
steel  for  ten  wheels  and  enough  wood  for  fifteen  could  make  only  ten 
wheels.  In  the  same  way  a  cow  with  enough  protein  for  ten  pounds  of 
milk  and  enough  carbohydrates  and  fat  for  twenty  would  only  produce 
ten  pounds  of  milk.  She  does  not  make  milk  deficient  in  protein,  but  is 
actually  limited  in  production  by  the  lack  of  sufficient  protein.  An 
excess  of  this  constituent,  however,  would  be  used.  Protein  should  be 
fed  in  sufficient  quantities,  but  not  much  in  excess,  for  it  is  more  expen- 
sive than  the  other  constituents.  Recently  a  dairyman  noticed  an 
excessive  feed  cost,  and  when  his  ration  was  studied  it  was  found  that  he 
was  feeding  enough  protein  for  a  cow  producing  four  to  five  thousand 
pounds  of  milk  more  than  his  cows  were  producing. 

A  dairyman  can  no  more  feed  a  cow  intelligently  without  a  scale  than 
a  fireman  can  a  boiler  without  a  steam  gauge.  As  a  cow  goes  up  in  produc- 
tion she  should  be  increased  in  feed  allowance,  and  as  she  goes  down 
she  should  be  decreased.  The  more  milk  that  a  cow  will  produce  the 
less  will  be  its  cost.  The  maintenance  required  is  the  same  for  cows  of 
the  same  size. 

The  fewer  cows  necessary  to  produce  a  given  amount  of  milk,  the 
less  will  be  its  cost.  Table  I  shows  that  the  feed  cost  of  295  cows  in 
Pennsylvania  was  92  cents  per  hundred,  or  2  cents  per  quart.  These 
cows  averaged  6,000  pounds  per  year.  The  cost  of  feed  here  was  figured 
at  $1.50  per  month  for  pasture,  $10  to  $14  per  ton  for  hay,  grain  at  about 
$30  per  ton  and  silage  $5.  The  hay  item  is  a  bit  lower  than  market  price 
for  many  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  although  much  of  the  hay  was  only 
worth  $10  to  $14  in  the  mow.     Had  they  been  9,000  pound  producers,  the 


86 


cost  would  have  been  decreased  to  78  cents  per  hundred,  or  .0167  per 
quart,  and  12,000  pound  producers  to  71  cents  per  hundred,  or  .0154 
per  quart.  In  order  to  produce  milk  more  economically,  a  larger  number 
of  high-producing  cows  must  be  maintained.  Too  many  cows  that  only 
milk  during  a  short  period  of  the  year  and  only  produce  a  small  amount 
of  milk  are  kept  in  our  herds.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  buy  cows  that 
will  produce  these  larger  amounts.  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  that  more 
dairymen  raise  their  own  animals.  It  is  only  by  so  doing  that  we  will  be 
able  to  secure  good  herds  at  a  reasonable  cost. 

In  Table  II  the  feed  cost  of  milk  production  was  based  on  the  sale 
or  market  price  of  the  feed,  except  in  the  one  case  in  which  the  New 


WHAT  BECOMES  OF  THE  FEED  EATEN 
When  Fed  Too  Much 


Maintenance 

Production 

Stored  up 

1000  lb.  Cow 


20  lb.  4  per  cent  Milk  as  gain  in  weight 


Just  Enough 
Maintenance  Production 


1000  lb.  Cow 


20  lb.  4  per  cent  Milk 


Too  Little 


Maintenance 

Production 

1000  lb.  Cow 


10  lb.  4  per  cent 
Milk 


Jersey  costs  were  based  on  both.  The  question  of  which  figure  to  use 
has  been  discussed  considerably,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  unless  the 
differential  or  difference  between  the  cost  of  production  and  market 
price  is  considered,  a  fair  comparison  of  farming  methods  cannot  be  made. 
It  should  also  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  feeds,  although  given  as 
market  value,  in  some  cases  they  could  not  all  be  sold.  For  example, 
corn  stover,  although  it  has  a  good  market  in  many  localities  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, still  in  some  sections  it  could  not  be  sold  to  advantage.  It  is 
difficult,  therefore,  to  determine  just  what  should  be  charged  for  some 
feeds. 


87 

What  of  the  costs  other  than  feed?  I  regret  to  say  that  my  records 
of  this  study  in  Pennsylvania  have  not  been  completed.  We  are  making 
a  careful  study  of  this  subject  from  the  standpoint  of  various  practices 
and  will  within  a  few  months  have  definite  figures  for  these  costs  under 
Pennsylvania  conditions.  It  will,  however,  be  interesting  to  discuss  the 
costs  as  found  in  some  other  states.  Do  they  compare  with  our  condi- 
tions? It  will  be  seen  by  the  following  table  that  the  cost  of  keeping  a 
cow  a  year  varies  from  $65  to  $74.70,  with  an  average  of  $70.77.  This 
figured  in  terms  of  cost,  other  than  feed,  is  as  shown  in  Table  IV. 

It  is  obvious  from  Table  IV  that  it  is  even  more  important  that  our 
herds  contain  good  producers  in  order  to  keep  down  the  cost  of  producing 
milk.  According  to  the  above  figures  the  feed  cost  per  quart  of  milk  is 
two  cents  for  cows  producing  6,000  pounds  per  year. 

Let  us  now  return  to  some  of  the  main  items  of  cost. 

The  labor  item  is  a  large  one  and  one  that  is  difficult  to  reckon  under 
various  conditions  of  farming.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  labor 
cost  is  greater  on  a  farm  where  the  man  devotes  all  his  time  to  the  herd 
than  where  the  herd  is  simply  depended  upon  to  furnish  part  of  the  income 
and  other  cash  crops  are  sold.  In  the  latter  system  the  dairyman  often 
makes  a  better  division  of  labor.  During  a  large  part  of  the  year  a  hired 
man  may  be  used  in  milking  cows  without  an  additional  expense,  while 
at  other  seasons  of  the  year  the  boys  on  the  farm  would  be  home  from 
school  and  could  contribute  their  share  of  work.  I  am  not  in  favor  of  child 
labor,  as  it  is  generally  considered,  but  I  do  believe  that  the  physical  and 
mental  development  for  boys  working  on  the  farm  under  wholesome 
conditions  is  desirable.  It  is  good  training  for  the  boys  and  at  the  same 
time  helps  to  decrease  the  cost  of  labor,  but  when  you  consider  farms 
where  the  practice  is  to  employ  a  man  for  each  ten  to  fifteen  cows  to  devote 
all  his  time  to  them,  there  the  cost  per  cow  for  the  year  reaches  a  large  sum. 
At  the  present  cost  of  labor,  $30  per  year  per  cow  is  a  reasonable  figm-e. 

The  items  of  housing  and  depreciation,  although  they  vary  consider- 
ably, are  not  small.  As  was  suggested  above,  many  herds  are  over-capi- 
talized. The  milking  periods  of  cows  are  also  often  shorter  than  some 
suppose.  If  six  years  is  considered  as  the  milking  life  of  a  cow,  $100  animals 
would  depreciate  $10  per  year,  figuring  that  she  would  be  worth  $40  for 
beef.  If  less  expensive  cows  are  kept,  of  course  the  depreciation  would 
be  proportionately  more.  Some  cows,  however,  will  milk  for  ten  or  twelve 
years,  while  others  fail  to  breed  regularly  and  others  have  udder  troubles 
and  only  have  a  short  period  of  usefulness. 

The  cost  of  bedding  as  found  in  other  states  is  about  as  we  find  in 
Pennsylvania.  Where  cows  are  kept  in  the  stable  the  greater  part  of  the 
year,  I  know  of  no  system  of  bedding  that  costs  less  than  $4  to  $5  per  year 
per  cow. 

Let  us  discuss  briefly  the  returns  other  than  milk.  The  largest  of 
these  is  the  manure.     A  cow  will  produce  about  twelve  tons  per  year,  and 


88 


the  results  of  the  experiments  at  State  College  show  that  manure  is  worth 
on  our  soil  about  $1.50  per  ton  as  compared  with  commercial  fertilizers. 
When  the  cost  of  hauling  is  considered  and  the  losses  taken  into  considera- 
tion, the  manure  per  cow  per  year  is  worth  approximately  $12.  On  some 
land  deficient  in  humus  the  manure  would  be  worth  slightly  more. 

The  other  item  of  income  is  the  calf,  a  variable  factor.  Calves  from 
the  average  cow  in  the  above  "herds  would  be  worth  from  $3  to  $10,  or 
perhaps  a  little  more,  but  not  all  cows  breed  each  year;  some  calves  do  not 
live  and  accidents  of  one  sort  or  another  decrease  the  actual  returns  from 
calves.     Bull  calves  from  the  grade  cows  are  worth  only  a  little. 

My  conclusion  is  not  that  you  should  sell  your  cows,  but  rather  keep 
the  good  ones,  feed  a  balanced  ration,  study  feed  costs  and  feed  analysis, 
produce  a  clean,  wholesome  milk,  and  you  will  in  most  cases  secure  market 
prices  for  home-grown  feeds  and  make  a  satisfactory  interest  on  your  capital 
invested  and  a  fair  compensation  for  your  labor. 

-  Table  I. — Feed  Cost  on  Eleven  Pennsylvania  Dairies. 


Number. 

Number 
of  Cows. 

Cost  of 
Roughage. 

Cost  of 
Grain. 

Total 
Cost  of 
Feed. 

Pounds 

Milk 

Produced. 

Cost  to 

Produce 

100  Pounds 

Milk. 

1 

18 
22 
53 
49 
13 
30 
16 
10 
19 
32 
33 

$354.01 
708.25 

1,592.67 

1,501.83 
470.34 

1,194.45 
631.45 
332.35 
587.06 

1,057.31 
890.55 

$749.11 
671.22 
677.90 

1,345.83 
297.32 
483.30 
388.47 
311.72 
617.70 
824.52 
909.47 

$1,103.12 
1,379.77 
2,270.57 

2,847.27 
767.66 
1,677.75 
1,019.92 
644.07 
1,204.76 
1,881.83 
1,800.02 

110,391 
149,998 
288,397 
274,396 

79,695 
160,130 
125,203 

80,335 
117,451 
193,211 
199,294 

$0  99 

2..            

.92 

3 

79 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

1.04 
.96 

1.04 
.81 
.80 

9 

10 

11 

1.03 
.97 
.90 

Total 

Average 

Feed  cost  per  quart 

295       1  $9,320.27 
..   •    1         31.59 

$7,276.47 
24.66 

$16,596.74 
56.26 

1,778,501 
602,885 

$0.93 

"■!o2 

Table  II. — Feed  Cost  of  Milk — Other  States. 


Connecticut 

Massachusetts . . 
New  Hampshire . 
New  Hampshire. 

New  Jersey 

New  Jersey 


Number 
of  Cows. 


124 
131 
203 
325 
31 


I      Average 
Pounds 
Milk 
Produced. 


6,378 
6,036 
6,934 
6,463 
8,561 


Cost  of 
Feed. 


$84.07 

90.04 

74.35 

73.03 

*121.60 

t95.73 


Cost  per 

100  Pounds 

Milk. 


$1.32 
1.49 
1.06 
1.13 
1.42 
1.12 


Cost  per 
Quart. 


$0,028 
.032 
.022 
.024 
.030 
.024 


*  Feed  at  sale  price. 

t  Feed  at  cost  of  production. 


89 


Table  III. — Cost  Other  than  Feed  in  Other  States. 


N.  H. 


Conn. 


N.J. 


Mass. 


Average. 


Taxes 

Depreciation 

Housing  (tax  on  barn,  etc.) 

Bull 

Tools,  utensils,  salt 

Ice,  coal,  wood 

Veterinary  service 

Insurance 

Cow  Testing  Association . . 

Delivery 

Labor 

Bedding 

Interest 


$0.80 
8.83 
9.05 
3.79 

.53 
2.17 

.87 

i^io 

7.18 

32.33 

4.00 

3.75 


Total I  $74.70 


$1.25 

13.00 

6.75 

3.00 

"■2!oo 
"a6 


33.60 
5.00 


10.00 
5.00 
1.93 


43.00 
5.29 
5.00 


$11.25 
7.50 
4.00 
1.15 
9.00 


35.00 
5*25 


$65.00    I  $70.22      $73.15 


$70.77 


Table  IV. — Cost  Other  than  Feed 
Computed  from  Table  III. 


Pounds  per  Cow  per  Year. 

Cost  per  Quart  Milk. 

3,000 

6,000 

9,000 

12,000 

$0,052 
.026 
.017 
.013 

Mr.  Dulles:  I  would  like  to  ask  a  question.  You  have  the  cost  of 
delivery  at  17.18.  I  figure  the  cost  of  delivery  at  about  21.  The  freight 
is  half  a  cent  a  quart  within  25  or  30  miles  of  Philadelphia.  That  alone 
will  figure  more  than  17.18. 

Prof.  Larsen  :  As  I  tried  to  explain,  these  were  not  my  figures,  but 
they  were  collected  from  different  cities. 

Mr.  Dulles:  I  was  speaking  because  the  figures  are  presented. 
Then  I  think  there  are  two  other  items  of  the  cost  of  delivery.  One  is 
the  cost  of  hauling  and  another  is  the  cost  of  shipping  in  cans,  from  the 
loss  of  cans. 

Prof.  Larsen  :  They  are  supposed  to  be  included  here. 

Mr.  Dulles  :  If  that  is  included,  I  figure  that  the  cost  will  be  $22  a 
cow  instead  of  17.18,  which  is  quite  a  difference. 

Prof.  Larsen  :  If  you  have  got  an  8,000  pound  producer,  you  can 
pay  that. 

Mr.  Dulles:  No,  you  can't  afford  it. 

Prof.  Larsen:  As  I  started  out,  a  statement  like  that  is  absolutely 
out  of  place,  saying  you  can't  produce  it  for  4J  cents,  without  saying  what 
the  price  of  the  feed  is. 


90 

Mr.  Dulles:  Let  me  say  that  I  have  taken  the  feed  at  exactly  the 
figures  you  have  given  us,  because  I  have  figured  silage  at  $5  a  ton  and 
hay  at  $18  a  ton,  cottonseed  meal  would  cost  $34  a  ton,  which  is  a  little 
more  than  you  figure  it  (at  an  average  of  about  $30),  which  is  your  figure. 

Prof.  Larsen  :  The  dairymen  are  doing  it. 

Mr.  Dulles  :  I  do  not  think  they  do  that  on  an  8,000  pound  cow. 

Hon.  Mr.  Critchfield  :  You  said  something  about  the  great  value  of 
milk  as  a  food.  Which  is  the  better,  the  milk  which  is  rich  in  casein  or 
rich  in  butter  fats?     Which  has  the  best  value? 

Prof.  Larsen:  I  cannot  answer  that  question.  Men  who  know 
more  about  it  than  I  do,  do  not  agree  on  it,  and  men  who  know  as  much 
as  anybody,  do  not  agree  on  it.  Some  claim  that  casein  is  more  valuable 
and  others  claim  that  butter  fat  is.  They  are  entirely  different.  It 
depends  on  what  you  are  consuming  with  it.  If  you  need  fat  to  balance 
up  with  some  other  food  you  are  eating  with  the  milk,  then  it  would  be 
desirable  to  have  fats;  or  if  you  are  having  fats  in  some  other  form,  then 
casein  would  be  desirable.     I  can't  answer  that  question. 

[The  conference  at .  this  point  adjourned  until  10  o'clock  Friday 
morning.] 


CORN  DAY 

Friday  Morning,  December  5,  1913,  10  o'Clock. 
Council  Chamber,  City  Hall. 


Chairman,  Clarence  Sears  Kates,  Esquire,  of  the  Philadelphia  Society 
for  Promoting  Agriculture. 

Mr.  Kates,  after  calling  the  conference  to  order,  made  the  following 
remarks : 

With  the  enormous  amount  of  extremely  valuable  information  on 
agriculture  collected  by  state  institutions  and  our  national  Department  of 
Agriculture,  a  constant  effort  has  been  made  to  render  the  data  available 
to  the  man  on  the  farm.  Publicity  in  general  was  comparatively  easy — 
but  to  get  the  information  to  the  particular  individual  requiring  it  was  the 
problem.  A  number  of  methods  were  worked  out;  some  were  adaptations 
of  older  means,  some  quite  new. 

The  bulletins  of  the  state  colleges,  state  experimental  stations.  State 
Department  of  Agriculture  and  our  National  Department,  even  city 
dwellers  are  familiar  with;  the  farm  journals  and  the  general  dailies  were 
of  course  used,  and  will  always  be  invaluable. 

The  next  step  was  to  send  a  properly  informed  man  to  lecture  on  his 
specialty  at  some  chosen  locality,  the  farmers  of  a  neighborhood  choosing 
the  subject  and  the  College  or  State  Department  of  Agriculture  providing 
the  man. 

A  further  advance  was  made  when  the  agricultural  educational  train 
was  evolved,  an  important  point  in  its  favor  being  that  even  if  a  farming 
neighborhood  had  not  requested  information — or  halls  were  unavailable — 
the  train  itself  was  the  lecture  room,  and  advance  notice  was  spread  broad- 
cast that  on  a  certain  day  the  train  with  a  staff  of  lecturers  would  be  on 
such  and  such  a  siding.  This  obviated  waiting  for  initiative — and  that 
was  indeed  an  advance,  as  lack  of  leadership  is  a  great  drawback  in  rural 
progress  as  yet.  But  a  serious  disadvantage  to  all  these  sincere  efforts 
was  the  lack  of  knowledge  as  to  the  conditions  peculiar  to  the  locality, 
limiting  therefore  the  recommendations  of  the  lecturers  or  experts  to  general 
directions;  whereas  if  they  could  know  the  specific  needs  they  could 
largely  recommend  a  specific  practice. 

What  was  to  be  done? 

The  answer  is  found  in  what  is  termed  the  Farm  Bureau  and  its 
County  Agent.    And  too,  it  is  at  that  point  where  the  interests  of  the  city 

(91) 


92 

can  be  connected  up  with  the  farms.    Hence  the  tsum  Bureau  and  County 
Agent  as  a  topic  for  this  morning's  session. 

But  in  addition  to  getting  helpful  information  to  the  men  who  knew 
they  required  it,  how  about  the  still  larger  number  who  didn't  know  they 
needed  it  or  lacked  initiative  to  make  some  effort  to  get  it? 

And  by  way  almost  of  interpolation  at  this  point,  the  query  made  by 
some  is,  Why  should  such  efforts  be  made  to  get  information  to  people 
who  have  not  gumption  enough  to  try  to  get  it  for  themselves?  Let  them 
go.  Why  should  such  backward  fellows  be  helped  or  pursued?  The 
answer  to  that,  expressed  in  the  lowest,  most  primitive  terms  is — it  is  not 
done  for  the  benefit  of  those  individuals  but  because  the  world  must  he 
fed — and  that  means  you  and  me.  And  until  we  reach  ideal  farming,  we 
must  work  with  what  we  have  that  you  and  I  will  not  starve  during  the 
period  of  reconstruction. 

I  hasten  to  say  I  do  not  subscribe  to  that  answer  as  completely  cover- 
ing the  reason,  but  it  is  an  answer  to  ''carping  critics"  or  ''knockers," 
whether  the  "knocker"  is  farmer  or  city-dweller,  and  some  are  found  both 
in  country  and  city.  The  opinion  I  have  formed  of  the  actual  workers 
in  this  field  of  rural  regeneration  is  of  the  highest — as  a  class  or  profession, 
their  disinterested,  unselfish  work  is  quite  equal  indeed  to  the  spirit  animat- 
ing our  clergy  missionaries,  and  I  am  extremely  glad  to  have  this  oppor- 
tunity to  pay  my  humble  compliments  to  them. 

But  to  return  to  the  programme.  I  have  indicated  that  the  Farm 
Bureau  brings  the  city  into  direct  relations  with  the  country — the  method 
for  so  doing  will  be  explained  to  you  by  an  expert  later  on.  And  I  am  very 
proud  that  the  expert  is  a  Pennsylvania  man  who  has  evolved  ingenious, 
original  and,  of  course  best  of  all,  absolutely  practical  plans. 

By  referring  to  the  developing  of  plans  to  reach  the  individual  farm 
with  such  a  bureau  or  organization,  you  should  know  that  there  are  many  ■ 
other  kinds  of  development  required  and  many  plans  proposed.  It  has 
therefore  become  necessary  in  a  territory  so  large  as  the  United  States 
to  collect  and  study  in  a  central  place  their  many  lines — hence  its  title, 
the  Rural  Organization  Service.  And  the  chief  of  that  new  work  we  are 
to  have  the  pleasure  of  listening  to  and  hearing  at  first  hand  somewhat 
of  his  plans. 

Pure  seed,  true  to  type,  is  a  matter  of  fundamental  importance.  The 
man  who  devotes  himself  to  the  improvement  of  seed  through  breeding 
is  therefore  serving  mankind  (which  I  would  remind  ourselves — means 
serving  you  and  me)  very  directly  and  we  will  be  privileged  to  hear  (again 
at  first  hand)  from  one  who  is  of  the  highest  authority  and  a  practical 
and  scientific  worker  of  the  first  rank,  and  who  has  paid  us  the  honor  of 
coming  more  than  a  thousand  miles  to  fulfil  his  acceptance  of  our  invita- 
tion.    His  address  will  add  greatly  to  the  value  of  our  conference. 

I  believe  that  the  Farm  Bureau  and  its  County  Agent  is  destined  to 
be  the  principal  avenue  for  the  rapid  introduction  of  guaranteed  true  to 


93 

type  and  pure  seed,  hence  the  appropriateness  of  that  subject  in  connection 
with  the  Farm  Bureau. 

And  lastly — an  unexpected  and  unique  use  by  a  distinctly  city  institu- 
tion of  the  highest  standing  has  been  observed  in  relation  to  the  County 
Agent  and  I  am  happy  to  state  that  a  great  trust  company  sends  to  us  an 
able  and  enthusiastic  officer  to  describe  their  method. 

You  will  please  bear  in  mind  that  these  topics  are  brought  to  your 
attention  from  the  limited  point  of  view  of  their  advantage  to  the  city, 
with  the  hope  that  the  people  of  the  city  will  be  more  alert  to  the  necessity 
of  their  taking  active  steps  in  facilitating  the  introduction  of  more  satis- 
factory methods  of  increasing  their  food  supply,  infinitely  bettering  the 
quality  of  the  food  and  perhaps  lessening  its  cost  to  the  consumer. 

And  now  it  is  but  right,  as  it  is  indeed  my  pleasure,  to  express  my 
sense  of  the  honor  that  has  been  conferred  upon  me  by  my  colleagues  of 
the  conference  in  inviting  me  to  open  this  session.  To  President  Calwell 
I  extend  my  thanks  for  the  honor  and  beg  to  have  him  accept  my  congratu- 
lations on  the  fine,  broad-minded  way  he  has  developed  this  Com  Show 
and  Agricultural  Conference.  And  to  the  able  and  untiring  president  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Rural  Progress  Association,  whose  management  of  the 
programme  and  discussions  is  another  example  of  her  abihty.  I  ask  Mrs. 
Smith  to  continue  her  services  at  this  significant  session,  significant  because 
it  is  my  hope  that  from  it  will  eventuate  a  Philadelphia  Agricultural  and 
Marketing  Bureau. 

Mrs.  Smith:  I  want  to  refer  to  an  expression  that  I  heard  from  Dean 
Russell,  of  Wisconsin.  When  the  Wisconsin  exhibition  was  out  there  last 
summer,  somebody  spoke  to  him  about  a  certain  meeting,  an  agricultural 
meeting,  which  took  place,  and  said,  "Was  there  anything  accomplished 
by  the  meeting,  or  was  it  just  a  hot  air  fest?" 

That  is  exactly  what  Mr.  Kates  wants  to  indicate,  that  this  meeting 
is  not  to  be  a  hot  air  fest. 

Now,  the  Pennsylvania  State  Grange  News,  in  its  last  number,  quotes 
resolutions  which  were  passed  by  the  National  Grange,  and  among  others 
was  this:  "Resolved,  That  the  excitement  of  holding  agricultural  meetings 
in  various  parts  of  the  country,  for  no  purpose  whatever  except  an  apparent 
desire  on  the  part  of  people  to  uplift  those  who  do  not  want  uplifting" — 
I  am  not  quoting  it  exactly,  but  that  is  about  the  gist  of  it — ''is  to  be 
discouraged." 

Now,  you  see  it  is  to  be  discouraged  that  people  should  get  together 
with  no  object  in  view,  but,  as  Mr.  Kates  pointed  out,  there  is  a  very 
definite  object  in  view  and  there  is  to  be  something  left  over  from  this 
conference.  There  is  a  real  object  before  us  and  that  is  to  assist  in  the 
solving  of  these  problems,  and  there  is  very  reasonable  hope  that  the  object 
will  be  attained. 


94 

We  have  with  us  this  morning  a  list  of  very  distinguished  speakers. 

On  the  programme,  first  of  all,  you  will  notice  Prof.  T.  N.  Carver,  who 
is  chief  of  the  Rural  Organization  Service,  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture.  He  is  an  economist  of  great  fame.  His  work  on  the  economics 
of  agriculture  is  well  known,  and  what  he  has  to  tell  us  this  morning  with 
regard  to  the  future  plans  for  rural  organization  in  this  country  will  be  of 
great  interest  to  us  and  will  give  us  the  hope  that  something  at  last  is. to 
be  accomplished  in  a  national  way  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  farmers 
and,  through  them,  the  whole  nation.  I  take  great  pleasure  in  introducing 
Dr.  Carver. 


THE  RURAL  ORGANIZATION  SERVICE. 


Dr.  T.  N.  Carver, 

Dii-ector,  Rural  Organization  Service,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 

Washington,  D.  C. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen;  The  problem  of  the  economic  distribution  of 
the  products  of  the  farm  is,  as  I  presume  has  been  stated  several  times 
already  in  this  meeting,  largely  a  matter  of  getting  the  city  consumer  and 
the  country  producer  on  a  basis  of  mutual  understanding  and  co-operation, 
but  it  is  not  a  very  profitable  expenditure  of  time  to  discuss  co-operation 
in  the  air  until  you  have  some  definite  scheme  or  plan  according  to  which 
you  are  going  to  co-operate  or  upon  which  you  are  going  to  co-operate. 
All  co-operation,  which  means  merely  working  together,  is,  of  course — 
and  this  is  elementary — based  upon  mutual  concessions  and  accommoda- 
tions. People  who  will  not  concede  anjrthing  or  accommodate  themselves 
to  the  requirements  of  other  people,  of  course  cannot  work  with  other 
people  and  must  work  alone  and,  therefore,  ineflSciently.  There  is 
nothing  to  be  accomplished  by  talking  either  to  the  farmers  or  the  city 
consumers  about  the  other  fellow's  faults.  Leadership  in  this  world  has 
always  been  divided  into  two  main  types.  One  tells  the  people  about 
their  own  rights,  their  wrongs,  their  grievances,  but  he  never  accom- 
plishes anything  except  getting  himself  a  Httle  popularity  at  times. 
Nothing  that  is  worth  while  is  ever  done  by  that  method.  There  is 
another  type  of  leader  who  tells  the  people  nothing  about  their  rights  or 
wrongs  or  grievances,  but  tells  them  about  their  opportunities  and  their 
obHgations.  While  this  type  of  leader  is  not  always  the  most  popular, 
his  is  the  leadership  that  is  really  constructive  and  that  accompHshes 
results.  The  best  illustration  that  we  have  at  the  present  day  is  in  the 
condition  of  the  southern  negro.  There  is  a  type  of  leader  who  sets  up  a 
fiery  cross  and  tells  the  people  about  their  grievances  and  their  wrongs 
and  tries  to  excite  them  into  some  kind  of  concerted  action  to  get  their 
rights  and  redress  their  wrongs.  Then  there  is  Booker  T.  Washington 
telling  them  nothing  about  their  wrongs  or  their  grievances,  but  telling 
them  a  great  deal  about  their  opportunities  and  obligations.  We  all 
believe  that  is  the  type  of  leader  that  is  going  to  help  the  southern  negro. 

That  is  a  mere  preface  to  what  I  want  to  say  about  mutual  accommo- 
dations and  concessions  which  the  city  and  country  people  must  make. 
All  moral  principles,  in  fact,  begin  by  getting  the  other  man's  point  of 
view.     The  child  cries  and  asks,  ''How  would  you  Hke  it  if  you  were  in 

(95) 


96 

my  place?"  That  is  elementary.  All  theories  of  justice  and  equity 
result  from  putting  yourself  in  the  other  man's  place. 

Before  a  more  economic  method  of  getting  the  farm  produce  to  the 
city  consumer  can  be  inaugurated  the  city  consumers  must  be  willing  to 
spend  a  little  more  time  and  take  a  little  more  trouble  in  their  marketing. 
So  long  as  the  city  consumer  expects  to  use  the  telephone  a  few  hours 
before  dinner  and  order  the  things  which  she  forgot  to  get  in  the  morning, 
she  will  never  be  able  to  trade  directly  with  the  farmer.  So  long  as  the 
farmer  insists  on  dumping  his  produce  in  a  nondescript  and  unstandardized 
condition  upon  the  market,  the  city  consumer  will  never  be  able  to  buy  of 
him.  The  middleman  will  continue  to  be  necessary,  and  there  is  no 
occasion  for  attacking  him  under  those  conditions.  So  long  as  he  is  a 
necessity,  so  long  as  the  goods  must  go  through  his  hands,  he  can  charge 
whatever  toll  he  chooses  to  charge.  It  is  like  goods  on  one  side  of  the 
river  and  a  demand  on  the  other,  but  only  one  bridge  and  one  man  or  one 
group  of  men  controlling  that  bridge.  So  long  as  the  goods  must  pass 
over  that  bridge  and  in  no  other  way,  the  people  that  control  that  bridge 
can  charge  what  they  like.  But  if  another  bridge  is  built,  and  even 
though  it  is  not  so  good,  then  that  is  a  new  channel  that  is  opened  up 
through  which  goods  can  go  from  one  side  to  the  other,  and  that  will 
limit  the  toll  which  can  be  charged  on  the  first. 

The  city  consumer  must,  therefore,  be  willing  to  buy  inteUigently  and 
take  some  trouble,  and  that  means,  first,  to  buy  some  time  in  advance 
and  not  expect  to  get  instantaneous  service.  In  the  second  place,  the 
city  consumer  must  be  willing  to  buy  standardized  goods  in  standardized 
packages.  So  long  as  one  consumer  insists  on  having  two  eggs,  another 
half  a  dozen,  and  another  a  dozen,  and  there  is  no  uniformity,  it  is  very 
difficult  for  the  farmer  to  sell  eggs  to  individual  consumers  in  that  way. 
But  if  they  will  get  in  the  habit  of  buying  standardized  packages,  then 
the  farmer  may  be  able  to  meet  their  needs,  but  not  until  then.  That  is 
not  only  true  of  eggs,  but  other  produce  as  well. 

On  the  other  hand,  as  I  indicated  a  few  moments  ago,  so  long  as 
the  farmer  takes  the  easy  way  of  selling  his  products  in  a  nondescript 
condition,  the  city  consumer  cannot  use  the  goods  in  that  condition.  He 
must  have  what  he  wants.  He  is  not  going  to  buy  a  nondescript  lot  in 
the  hope  that  he  may  get  something  that  he  wants  and  throw  the  rest 
away,  but  the  farmer  must  grade  and  standardize  his  own  product; 
otherwise  the  city  consumer  will  never  buy  directly  in  large  quantities. 
If  the  farmer  will  grade  and  standardize  his  products,  not  only  as  to 
quality  but  as  to  package,  so  that  it  is  marketed  in  uniform  packages 
about  the  size  that  the  average  consumer  can  conveniently  handle, 
that  in  itself  will  make  possible  the  bridging  of  that  gap  between 
the  two  and  therefore  of  reducing  the  toll  which  can  be  charged 
now  by  those  necessary  agencies  through  which  the  goods  must  be 
transmitted. 


97 

As  I  said  a  few  moments  ago,  so  long  as  the  middleman,  particularly 
the  commission  man,  is  a  necessity,  nothing  is  to  be  gained  by  attacking 
him.  He  is  a  necessity.  He  is  here  to  stay  so  long  as  conditions  remain 
as  they  are.  When  conditions  change  so  as  to  make  him  unnecessary, 
he  will  disappear  automatically  and  you  will  not  need  to  attack  him 
at  all.  I  have  recently  spent  some  little  time  in  the  best  organized  coun- 
try in  the  world,  I  suppose,  agriculturally  speaking,  Denmark.  A  dis- 
tinguishing fact  in  Denmark  is  the  way  in  which  the  farm  products  are 
standardized  at  the  farm.  We  imagine  sometimes  that  they  have  a  great 
marketing  association,  but  they  have  nothing  of  the  kind,  because  when 
they  standardize  their  own  products  at  the  farm  they  do  not  need  to  do 
much  marketing.  The  buyers  come  and  take  the  produce  off  their  hands 
because  the  product  is  uniform  in  quality  and  absolutely  standardized, 
and  the  buyer  anywhere  can  order  from  any  part  of  Denmark  and  get 
what  he  wants.  For  example,  I  will  take  one  bacon-curing  establishment 
at  Frederickssund,  in  which  I  spent  some  little  time.  They  were  receiving 
orders  daily  from  small  grocerymen  in  New  Castle  and  other  English 
towns,  besides  selling  large  quantities  to  large  buyers.  The  small  grocery- 
man  in  an  English  town  can  order  from  any  of  these  co-operative  bacon 
factories,  because  he  knows  that  every  hundred  pounds  of  Danish  bacon 
is  like  every  other  hundred  pounds.  The  secret  of  it  is  not  discovered 
until  you  get  back  to  the  farms  themselves.  You  may  ride  a  hundred 
miles  through  rural  Denmark,  visit  a  thousand  farms,  and  look  at  ten 
thousand  pigs,  and  you  will  find  them  all  alike,  of  one  breed  and  as  nearly 
alike  as  animals  of  a  standardized  breed  ever  are.  In  the  second  place, 
they  are  all  marketed  at  about  the  same  weight.  They  figure  that  a  pig 
from  180  to  200  pounds  makes  the  kind  of  bacon  which  the  English  con- 
sumer wants.  So  the  pigs  are  uniform  not  only  in  breed,  color  and 
quality,  but  in  size.  The  curing  process  is  standardized.  One  hundred 
pounds,  as  I  said,  of  Danish  bacon  is  like  every  other  hundred  pounds 
and  the  quality  is  guaranteed. 

Mr.  Egan,  our  Minister  to  Denmark,  said  that  within  a  short  time 
before  we  were  there,  the  report  came  back  from  London  that  a  couple  of 
shipments  of  Danish  butter  had  been  below  par.  It  was  made  a  national 
issue.  Apologies  were  sent  around  to  the  different  legations,  not  that 
they  had  bought  any,  but  because  the  people  thought  that  somehow  it 
was  a  stain  on  the  national  honor.  Is  there  any  mystery  or  magic  about 
the  fact  that  Danish  butter  sold  well?  The  people  have  been  told  their 
own  obligations  and  opportunities,  but  they  have  not  been  taught  to  lay 
the  blame  on  the  other  fellow.  They  have  risen  to  their  opportunities 
under  this  teaching,  and  the  world  comes  to  them  for  its  products.  That 
is  one  case,  at  least,  where  godliness  is  profitable. 

Let  me  summarize  what  I  have  said  thus  far.  If  the  farmer  will 
grade  and  standardize  his  own  products,  make  them  uniform  in  quality, 
put  them  in  uniform  packages,  standardized  in  such  form  that  the  average 


98 

consumer  can  buy  it;  if  the  consumer  on  the  other  hand,  is  willing  to  take 
a  little  trouble  and  not  expect  instantaneous  service  from  the  nearest 
store,  but  buys  a  little  in  advance  and  will  buy  in  uniform,  standardized 
packages,  then  the  gap  is  bridged. 

The  next  point  is  that  not  all  the  produce,  or  any  large  proportion  of 
it,  is  likely  to  be  sold  directly  to  consumers.  I  should  expect  that  a  great 
amount  of  farm  produce  would  continue  to  go  through  agencies  of  one 
kind  or  another.  The  first  effort  would  be  to  substitute  the  jobber  for 
the  commission  man.  So  long  as  the  handling  of  farm  produce  is  largely 
speculative,  as  it  must  be,  if  farm  produce  is  nondescript,  ungraded  and 
unstandardized,  the  middleman  does  not  like  to  assume  the  risk;  he  does 
not  want  to  do  the  speculating  and  he  throws  it  back  on  the  other  fellow. 
He  merely  receives  it  on  consignment  and  the  farmer  must  take  the  risk. 
When  the  farmer  himself  standardizes  his  product,  so  that  there  is  a 
little  less  risk  in  handling  it,  then  the  jobber  or  the  middleman  ceases  to 
become  the  middleman  and  becomes  the  jobber.  That  is  the  history  of 
the  development  thus  far.  He  buys  it  outright,  takes  it  off  the  farmer's 
hands  and  distributes  it  himself.  I  should  expect  the  man  who  makes 
that  his  specialty  would  probably  continue  to  be  distributing  more 
economically  in  the  mass  than  the  farmer  himself.  But  the  fact  that 
this  other  avenue  is  open,  that  the  consumer  can  go  to  the  producer  with- 
out having  to  go  through  the  intermediary  of  the  middleman,  or  the 
producer  can  get  his  stuff  past  the  middleman  to  the  consumer,  that 
in  itself  will  limit  the  toll  which  a  middleman,  who  will  then  become  the 
jobber,  can  charge  for  his  services.  I  should  expect,  as  I  said,  the  man 
in  that  business  who  makes  it  a  specialty  can  do  it  far  more  cheaply  than 
the  co-operative  society  or  any  other  society  who  tries  to  market  directly, 
but  he  is  compelled  to  do  it  cheaper  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  it  is  pos- 
sible for  them  to  get  along  without  him. 

The  same  principle  is  involved  here  as  in  the  theory  of  railway  rates 
where  a  railroad  has  to  compete  with  water  transportation.  Railroads  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  great  lakes,  for  instance;  it  is  well  recognized 
that  they  keep  their  rates  down  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  water  trans- 
portation is  still  a  possibility.  It  is  not  necessary  that  the  bulk  of  the 
freight  shall  go  by  water;  it  is  not  necessary  that  a  very  large  percentage 
shall  actually  go  by  water.  The  mere  fact  that  the  channel  is  open  limits 
the  toll  that  the  railroad  can  charge. 

So,  in  this  situation  which  I  am  describing,  it  will  not  be  necessary 
that  a  large  proportion  of  the  farm  produce  shall  be  actually  marketed 
through  parcel  post  or  any  other  direct  method.  The  mere  fact  that 
that  method  is  open  and  possible  will  force  the  surviving  middlemen  to 
do  their  business  economically.  If  they  can  do  that,  it  will  force  efficient 
methods  upon  them.  I  do  not  know  that  middlemen  are  different  from 
other  people.  So  long  as  conditions  are  easy  we  are  certain  to  profit  in 
a  way,  no  matter  what  the  methods  are.  The  farmer,  the  middleman, 
the  merchant  and  others  are  inclined  to  be  a  little  slipshod  in  their 


methods.  No  economical  society  is  interested  in  preserving  a  type  of 
business  after  that  business  ceases  to  be  necessary.  When  the  consumer 
finds  that  he  can  get  along  just  as  well  without  certain  products,  the 
farmer  that  produces  that  kind  of  product  becomes  unnecessary  and  must 
go.  The  same  will  be  true  of  the  middleman  whenever  his  services  are 
unnecessary.  There  is  no  use  in  complaining  about  that.  It  is  a  law  of 
the  universe.  Possibly  some  other  kind  of  universe  might  be  run  on  a 
different  principle.     That  is  not  our  concern. 

I  have  mentioned  grading,  standardizing,  getting  a  direct  market  and 
the  effect  which  this  will  have  on  indirect  marketing,  which  will  be  the 
principal  method  of  getting  the  goods  from  the  producer  to  the  consumer. 

Then  there  is  the  question  of  transportation.  The  chief  difficulty 
is  not  with  railway  rates.  I  have  recently  been  in  Alabama  and  I  have  in 
mind  the  experience  of  a  co-operative  society  in  marketing  strawberries. 
They  have  no  complaint  to  make  against  railroad  rates.  They  are  willing 
to  pay  good  rates  for  good  service,  but  what  spoils  the  business  is  the 
frequency  with  which  a  carload  of  strawberries  fails  to  reach  its  destina- 
tion. It  is  properly  started  on  its  way,  it  gets  off  on  a  side-track  some- 
where, is  three  or  four  days  late  getting  to  market,  and  the  loss  of  one  or 
two  cars  of  strawberries  is  a  pretty  severe  one  to  a  group  of  co-operators. 
They  would  much  better  sell  on  the  spot  than  to  undertake  to  do  their 
own  marketing.  They  cannot  afford  to  stand  the  risk.  This  particular 
co-operative  strawberry  growers'  association  has  lost  in  the  last  two  years 
several  carloads  of  strawberries  just  by  that  method. 

As  I  have  said,  they  have  no  complaint  against  the  railroad  rates; 
they  do  complain  against  the  inefficiency  with  which  those  goods  are 
delivered.     This  is  not  meant  as  an  attack  upon  the  railroad. 

I  have  not  named  any  railroad.  It  happens  that  all  these  losses 
have  come  through  the  inefficiency  of  one  particular  railway  system.  It 
might  be  interesting  if  I  should  name  that  system,  but  I  will  not.  I  say 
this  for  the  general  benefit  of  the  railway  men  who  are  genuinely  inter- 
ested in  this  problem  of  farm  economics  and  the  improved  methods  of 
distribution.  One  of  the  first  things  they  ought  to  do  is  to  see  to  it  that 
perishable  freight  is  delivered  promptly.  Perhaps  they  think  they  are 
doing  it.  The  specific  cases  which  I  have  mentioned,  which  I  can  vouch 
for,  show  that  there  is  still  room  for  improvement.  I  believe  the  rail- 
roads can  do  more  for  this  problem  by  getting  efficiency  in  service  than 
by  engaging  in  any  kind  of  an  educational  campaign,  although  educa- 
tional campaigns  are  always  valuable. 

Mrs.  Smith:  What  we  need  is  this  sort  of  a  clear  explanation  of 
where  we  stand,  what  the  condition  of  the  country  is,  what  we  have  to 
face  and  how  these  things  can  be  remedied.  We  need  to  understand  each 
other.  We  at  these  meetings  represent  so  many  different  interests,  the 
farmers,  the  commission  men  and  the  business  men  who  are  handling 
this  food  problem;    also  the  people  of  the  city,  the  consumers — all  sides 


100 

of  this  question  are  represented  at  this  meeting.  Consequently  we  need 
a  clear  explanation  and  a  perfect  understanding  of  where  we  stand.  We 
had  some  misunderstanding  and  a  little  difference  at  the  meeting  yester- 
day, but  I  do  not  know  but  what  it  added  to  the  general  interest.  That 
reminds  me  of  a  story  that  I  am  very  fond  of.  I  think  the  best  story- 
teller is  Booker  T.  Washington.  He  tells  a  story  of  when  he  was  first 
starting  to  school,  when  he  had  great  difficulty  in  getting  a  class  room. 
Finally  he  had  to  resort  to  using  a  chicken  house.  He  went  one  morning 
to  a  neighbor  and  he  said,  ''Uncle  Rastus,  could  you  help  me  clean  out 
that  chicken  house?"  Uncle  Rastus,  a  little  confused,  said,  ''Say, 
Brother  Washington,  don't  you  know  any  better  than  that?  You  can't 
clean  out  a  chicken  house  in  the  daytime."  [Laughter.]  He  misunder- 
stood him,  and  that  is  the  point  here;  we  want  to  understand  each  other. 
We  want  to  get  together.  That  is  what  this  meeting  will  certainly  bring 
about. 

We  are  now  to  hear  from  Mr.  A.  B.  Ross,  in  charge  of  the  Farm 
Bureau  of  Bedford  County,  Pa.  He  has  done  a  most  unique  work  there 
and  is  often  spoken  of  as  the  expert  missionary,  because  of  the  fact  that 
Mr.  Ross  is  the  first  man,  perhaps,  to  reahze  that  this  matter  of  training 
the  farmer  could  only  be  done  in  the  farmer's  kitchen,  with  personal  inter- 
views, close  touch  with  the  men,  and  not  through  lectures,  pamphlets 
and  things  of  that  kind.  A  farmer  is  like  all  the  rest  of  us — he  wants 
to  be  shown,  and  showing  how  he  did  it  is  what  Mr.  Ross  is  going  to  talk 
about  this  morning.  We  feel  that  this  is  a  very  significant  talk  that  we 
are  going  to  have  from  Mr.  Ross.  The  thinkers  of  this  country  feel  that 
Mr.  Ross,  more  than  any  other  man  in  the  United  States,  has  solved  the 
question  of  how  to  bring  the  farmer  to  see  this  question  of  standardiza- 
tion, which  Dr.  Carver  spoke  of  just  now,  and  he  has  shown  it  to  the 
farmer  as  a  money-making  proposition.  I  want  to  say  this:  we  all  go  to 
Pennsylvania  State  College  and  state  colleges  and  attend  agricultural 
meetings.  I  am  not  going  to  knock  Pennsylvania  State  College  again, 
as  I  was  accused  of  doing  yesterday,  for  I  feel  anything  but  that  way. 
I  have  the  most  sincere  regard  for  State  College,  but  I  think  that  Dr. 
Watts  would  back  me  up  in  saying  that  the  farmers  could  not  see  any 
better  things  than  I  did  the  other  day,  when  we  were  taken  through  the 
food  industry  of  this  city,  down  on  Front  and  Dock  Streets,  and  see  what 
these  city  people  want  to  eat.  I  am  a  farmer,  but  I  did  not  know  they 
wanted  chickens  packed  in  white  pine  boxes,  wrapped  in  paraffine  paper. 
I  did  not  know  that  the  minute  I  washed  an  egg  on  my  farm,  that  I 
spoiled  the  egg.  How  many  farmers  know  that  eggs  do  not  have  to  be 
washed?  How  many  farmers  know  that?  They  think  they  are  extra 
careful  because  they  wash  the  eggs,  and  they  told  me  in  the  commission 
house  that  a  washed  egg  is  about  half  gone  before  it  gets  here.  The 
worst  thing  to  do  to  an  egg  is  to  wash  it.  Those  are  the  kind  of  things 
that  Mr.  Ross  is  teaching  in  Bedford  County,  and  I  now  take  great  pleas- 
ure in  introducing  Mr.  A.  B.  Ross. 


THE   FARM   BUREAU;  WHAT   IT   IS   AND   WHAT   IT  DOES. 


A.  B.  Ross, 
Assistant  Agriculturist,  U.  S.  Department  Agriculture, 
County  Agent,  Bedford  County,  Pa. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  find  I  am  down  for  three  distinct  talks. 
The  programme  says  I  am  to  speak  about  "The  Farm  Bureau;  What 
It  Is  and  What  It  Does.''  Mr.  Calwell  has  asked  me  to  tell  something 
about  the  co-operative  method  of  buying  we  have  put  into  operation 
in  my  district.  So,  if  you  will  send  out  for  lunch  for  me,  I  hope  to  get 
through  by  evening. 

The  Farm  Bureau  is  comparatively  new.  I  think  we  can  date  its 
start  only  three  years  back;  it  has  really  started  practically  within  two 
years. 

We  are  just  commencing  to  find  ourselves  and  to  realize  what  the 
thing  means. 

The  bulletin  was  not  successful;  it  did  not  reach  the  men  we  were 
trying  to  get  at.  It  seemed  that  the  possibilities  of  getting  with  the 
farmer,  on  his  own  farm,  and  working  there,  were  worth  going  into. 
Anyhow,  to  make  a  long  story  short,  we  have  found  out  that  this  method 
of  approaching  the  farmer  is  the  method,  I  beheve,  of  the  future. 

The  work  must  be  done  with  the  farmer  on  his  own  farm;  there  must 
be  intimate  touch  between  the  agricultural  expert  and  the  farmer;  there 
must  be  the  consciousness  that  the  work  being  done  belongs  to  the  man 
who  is  doing  it,  that  the  results  of  his  toil  are  going  to  come  to  him,  that 
the  experiment  belongs  to  him,  is  his  absolutely,  in  order  to  stimulate 
better  production,  larger  production  and  better  methods  on  the  farm. 
I  believe  in  the  long  run  we  are  going  to  carry  to  the  farmer  enormously 
valuable  agricultural  knpwledge. 

We  have  been  working  with  the  farm  as  the  unit  of  our  work.  The 
county  agent  goes  to  the  individual  farmer  and  works  with  him  on  his 
farm  and  tries  to  reorganize  his  entire  method  of  working  and  of  account- 
ing. He  suggests  better  methods;  he  gets  rid  of  antiquated  implements, 
so  as  to  make  operations  more  profitable.  And  he  sees  that  the  plowing, 
harrowing  and  cultivation  are  done  along  modem  lines. 

But  we  have  been  working  with  units,  single  farmers.  We  are  com- 
mencing, I  am  glad  to  say,  all  over  this  country,  to  realize  the  possibility 
of  assembling  these  imits  into  larger  units,  of  co-ordinating  them  for 
co-operative  work  in  our  districts.  And  an  even  broader  view  is  already 
commencing  to  show  itself  in  various  sections  of  the  country,  as  shown  by 

(101) 


102 

tlie^cofniriim'icatioWthaVs-ire  being  received  at  Washington.  There  is  on 
foot  an  effort  not  merely  to  have  the  men  within  the  several  districts 
co-operate  among  themselves,  but  to  assemble  them  into  larger  units  of 
co-operation.  For  instance,  in  our  own  state,  it  has  lOnly  been  within  two 
months  that  one  of  our  county  men  originated  the  idea  of  our  communi- 
cating with  each  other,  so  that  each  would  be  informed  of  what  the  other 
had  to  sell  and  what  he  needed  in  the  way  of  agricultural  supphes.  So 
that  our  work  will  not  in  the  future  simply  relate  to  the  individual  county 
man  nor  to  the  development  of  the  individual  county,  but  we  will  work 
together,  will  help  each  other  out.  This  is  brand  new  in  agriculture;  its 
significance  is  hard  to  measure. 

I  say  that  we  are  just  beginning  to  find  ourselves.  It  is  suggestions 
of  this  sort  that  satisfy  me  that  we  are,  in  fact,  just  commencing  to  find 
ourselves.  And  this  county  agent  plan,  which  Senator  Gore  said  yester- 
day had  extended  rapidly  and  would  be  extended  in  the  future  as  rapidly 
as  possible  until  every  county  in  the  United  States  had  its  man,  is  going 
to  mean  a  tremendous  agricultural  development. 

But  the  county  agent  himself  is  only  commencing  to  reaUze  his 
opportunities;  and  in  the  natural  development  of  his  county  he  is  going 
to  find  opportunities  which  it  is  impossible  to  measure  in  their  ultimate 
outcome. 

Take  my  own  county,  for  instance.  It  normally  divides  itself  into: 
(1)  farm  units;  (2)  then  community  units;  (3)  then  larger  marketing 
units.  We  have  the  community  unit  in  Bedford  County  topographically 
divided  into  valleys  and  coves.  Each  valley  and  cove  represents  a  cer- 
tain type  of  soil,  with  possibilities  varying  from  the  very  highest  to  the 
very  lowest  found  in  Pennsylvania. 

In  some  of  the  sections,  because  of  the  topography,  or  on  account  of 
the  conditions  of  soil,  or  both,  the  agricultural  opportunity  is  about  as 
poor  as  can  be  found  in  the  state.  On  the  other  hand,  some  sections  offer 
quite  as  good  an  opportunity  as  anything  that  can  be  found  within  the 
state. 

The  county  man,  working  through  his  county  and  studying  it,  can 
find  out  these  conditions;  and  he  will  also  find  ai;i  opportunity  to  develop 
each  particular  district  along  normal  producing  lines. 

He  will  find  that  in  a  certain  district  somebody  many  years  ago 
attempted  to  follow  a  line  of  farming  that  is  not  the  best  line  for  that 
particular  district;  and  others  followed  hi*  example.  He  will  find  com- 
munities in  a  tremendously  hilly  district,  where  the  water  problem  is 
difficult  and  grass  scarce,  attempting  to  follow  dairying,  whereas  they 
should  be  producing  beef,  pork  and  sheep.  He  will  find  other  sections 
working  in  a  regular  rotation  where  dairying  is  the  very  best  opportunity, 

As  he  gets,  from  his  travels  and  observations,  a  comprehensive  view, 
he  will  be  possessed  of  information  which  will  enable  him  to  work  out  a 
synthetic  plan  for  the  organization  of  the  units  within  his  county.     And 


103 

his  influence  in  changing  production,  in  diverting  it  to  normal  and  profit- 
able lines,  is  going  to  be  enormous. 

All  of  his  field  work  is  going,  gradually  but  surely,  to  force  that 
synthetic  view  upon  him  and  enable  him  to  do  the  work  most  needed  by 
each  community. 

In  my  district,  originally  consisting  of  six  counties,  there  are  probably 
400,000  acres  of  land  today  that  is  non-productive.  All  of  this  land  is 
adapted  to  but  one  or  two  types  of  farming  at  a  profit.  One  is  meat 
production  on  lands  which  today  are  as  bare  of  grass,  almost,  as  this 
carpet,  but  which  can  be  gotten  into  grass  at  small  expense;  the  other  is 
fruit,  and  fruit  of  the  highest  quality  grown  anywhere  in  the  country. 

It  is  possible  to  swing  that  land  back  into  production,  to  compel  it 
to  bear  its  share  of  the  burden  of  feeding  this  nation.  It  is  possible  to 
do  it,  and  we  are  going  to  do  it  in  the  long  run. 

It  is  possible  for  the  men  in  the  more  fertile  districts,  such  as  Chester 
County,  who  are  not  holding  up  their  end  of  the  game,  to  get  their  hills 
into  grass.  And  where  today  there  are  practically  no  animals  there  could 
be  raised  animals  to  ship  into  Philadelphia  and  help  supply  Philadelphia 
with  meat. 

There  is  there  as  elsewhere  a  tremendous  synthetic  possibility  that 
today  is  not  understood  but  will  be  tomorrow;  and  it  is  going  to  have  a 
direct  bearing  on  the  total  food  supply  of  the  nation. 

The  Farm  Bureau,  as  usually  organized,  is  supported  by  three  or  four 
institutions,  one  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture;  another, 
State  College,  representing  the  agricultural  side  of  the  work;  and  the  third, 
almost  invariably,  a  chamber  of  commerce  of  some  city  that  is  located 
within  the  county.  There  is  sometimes  a  fourth,  the  railroad  or  the  rail- 
roads of  the  particular  district. 

The  county  agent,  when  he  takes  hold  of  the  county  work,  is 
promptly  swallowed  up  by  the  farmers.  They  absorb  all  his  time.  Yet 
he  is  partly  paid  by  the  chamber  of  commerce  of  the  city. 

What  value  is  he  giving  to  the  city  today  for  the  money  it  is  spending 
for  his  service?  We  have  not  found  ourselves,  but  we  are  going  to,  on 
this  proposition,  too. 

The  average  county  agent  is  not  seriously  undertaking  to  supply  his 
local  city  with  wholesome  perishable  products  and  to  so  standardize  food 
as  to  make  it  a  certainty  in  the  markets;  which  it  is  just  as  much  his 
duty  to  do  as  it  is  to  increase  production  on  the  farms. 

He  has  not  been  doing  this  because  he  has  been  absorbed  by  the 
farmer.  The  farmers  have  been  so  anxious  to  avail  themselves  of  his 
services  that  they  have  taken  all  his  time;  but  he  is  going  to  realize, 
sooner  or  later,  that  part  of  his  time  must  be  devoted  to  the  problems 
affecting  the  city;  and  for  this  reason.  Go  to  any  of  the  interior  second- 
class  cities  in  Pennsylvania  in  the  summer  time,  and  you  will  find  the 
average  produce  and  fruit  exposed  for  sale  in  the  groceries  is  stuff  which 


104 

we  in  the  country  would  hardly  feed  to  a  self-respecting  hog.  Altoona, 
Johnstown,  Wilkes-Barre  and  other  cities  in  our  state  today  are  supplied 
\vith  food  that  has  long  since  passed  the  state  in  which  it  is  thoroughly 
wholesome.  We  must  get  the  county  man  to  help  supply,  in  place  of 
that,  stuff  which  reaches  the  market  in  first-class  condition. 

I  have  spoken  at  some  length  about  the  Farm  Bureau  and  what  it 
is  doing.  What  it  is  going  to  do  is  another  matter.  It  must  reach  out 
and  cover  this  food  supply  proposition,  not  simply  for  its  own  district,  but 
help  to  supply  food  for  Philadelphia  and  other  large  cities. 

The  question  which  confronts  us  today  in  Philadelphia  is  not  simply 
the  high  cost  of  living,  as  that  problem  will  solve  itself  when  we  have 
followed  out  the  suggestions  of  Dr.  Carver  to  standardize  our  stuff  and 
ship  it  by  more  direct  methods  and  procure  from  the  present  distributing 
agencies  the  service  they  can  give  us  if  they  will.  We  have  another  and 
quite  as  serious  a  problem,  that  of  supplying  the  laboring  man,  who  is 
the  backbone  of  all  our  city  institutions — of  supplying  him  and  his  family 
not  simply  with  cheap  food,  but  with  wholesome  food;  and  we  must  give 
him  what  we  might  call  a  wider  selective  ration.  His  food  must  not  be 
confined  to  a  few  articles,  eaten  day  after  day,  but,  so  far  as  it  is  within 
his  means,  he  must  have  a  choice  of  a  number  of  things  from  which  to 
select  his  daily  food.  And  this  is  not  only  because  it  is  a  qiiestion  of 
health  but  also  a  question  of  efficiency  in  his  work. 

He  must  have  wholesome,  palatable  food,  properly  varied,  to  be 
contented;  because  a  man,  unless  he  is  in  a  contented  state  of  mind, 
unless  his  interior  machinery  is  working  smoothly,  humming  like  a  motor 
at  its  best,  cannot  do  his  best  work. 

So  the  food  supply  reaches  to  the  very  foundation  of  things,  involves 
the  manufacturing  efficiency  of  the  unit  and,  for  that  reason,  affects  the 
commercial  supremacy  of  the  city. 

It  is  a  question  of  such  importance,  viewed  in  this  light,  that  every 
manufacturing  interest  in  the  city  should  take  a  strong  interest  in  any 
effort  to  better  the  food  supply  of  the  city.  They  simply  cannot  afford 
to  do  otherwise. 

At  the  request  of  Mr.  Calwell  I  want  to  describe  to  you  briefly  a 
method  we  are  using  in  buying  supplies  for  the  farm. 

Our  present  system  of  agricultural  education  is  strong  in  the  middle 
and  weak  at  both  ends.  We  are  training  the  farmer  along  lines  of  better 
and  more  economical  production,  striving  to  increase  his  crops;  but  no 
provision  is  made  for  training  our  men  so  thai  they  will  go  into  the  field 
and  teach  the  farmer  how  to  buy  effectively  in  order  that  he  may  produce 
more  economically;  and,  at  the  other  end,  we  are  not  training  our  men  so 
that  they  can  show  the  farmer  how,  when  he  has  produced  stuff  for  the 
market,  to  market  it  so  that  it  will  take  its  proper  standing  in  the  market 
and  the  farmer  will  get  out  of  it  what  he  is  entitled  to.  We  are  not  teach- 
ing him  how  to  standardize  and  grade  and  pack  and  handle  his  stuff  so 
that  it  will  bring  what  it  should. 


105 

We  must  find  some  means  to  educate  the  men  in  the  field  for  this 
work,  because  the  farmers  are  commencing  to  demand  that  this  phase  of 
their  work  be  looked  after.  That  demand  is  going  to  grow,  and  we  are 
going  to  have  to  meet  it  eventually. 

I  don't  believe  very  much  in  making  new  commercial  machinery. 
I  do  not  believe  in  experimenting  where  there  is  already  machinery 
adapted  for  the  work  in  hand.  I  do  believe  that  there  is  now  in  existence 
plenty  of  machinery  to  handle  all  our  problems  both  in  buying  and 
selling. 

The  machinery  that  we  use  in  our  buying  operations  is  perfectly 
well  known  to  every  merchant  in  Philadelphia,  but  as  equally  unknown 
to  almost  every  farmer  in  the  state. 

In  our  buying  operations  we  use  what  is  known  as  the  negotiable 
bill  of  lading. 

When  goods  are  shipped  by  the  wholesaler  they  are  always  shipped 
in  one  of  two  ways.  He  either  ships  direct  to  the  consignee,  expecting  to 
follow  with  a  bill,  so  that  the  consignee  can  go  to  the  freight  station  and 
get  his  freight  the  moment  it  arrives;  or  he  ships  to  his  own  order,  at 
destination,  and  draws  on  the  consignee  for  the  value  of  the  goods,  attach- 
ing to  that  draft  the  bill  of  lading.  And  in  this  latter  ease  he  uses  the 
negotiable  or  order  form  bill  of  lading.  To  this  bill  of  lading  and  draft 
he  attaches  an  invoice  or  bill  of  the  goods  showing  what  has  been  shipped. 

The  order  form  bill  of  lading  represents  the  ownership  of  the  prop- 
erty, and  it  must  be  endorsed  the  same  as  a  promissory  note  and  turned 
over  to  the  buyer  before  the  latter  can  get  that  freight. 

So  the  shipper  sends  the  draft  to  the  buyer's  bank,  with  the  bill  of 
lading,  representing  ownership  of  the  property,  the  buyer  pays  for  the 
goods,  secures  the  bill  of  lading  and  takes  it  and  goes  to  the  railroad  and 
lifts  his  freight. 

It  is  extremely  simple  machinery.  It  protects  the  shipper  because 
he  receives  from  the  buyer's  bank  the  money  to  pay  for  the  goods  before 
the  bill  of  lading,  representing  ownership  of  the  property,  is  surrendered 
to  the  buyer.  It  protects  the  purchaser  because  the  purchaser  need  not 
pay  the  draft,  under  our  present  system,  until  the  freight  arrives.  Then, 
if  he  desires,  he  can  inspect  the  property.     And  we  buy  on  guaranty. 

It  further  protects  the  purchaser  in  the  matter  of  his  money  to  be 
paid  for  the  pm*chase  because  that  money  never  leaves  his  own  home 
bank.  Our  local  farmers'  exchange  will  not  handle  any  money;  the 
member  must  deposit  it  in  his  own  bank  and  that  bank  notifies  the 
exchange,  when  sending  the  order,  that  the  money  has  been  deposited. 
So  our  plan  offers  the  valuable  service  of  bringing  together  the  wholesaler 
and  the  consumer.  The  operation  carries  with  it  almost  no  overhead 
expense,  because  we  keep  no  books;  we  simply  bring  the  wholesaler  and 
consumer  together. 

Last  year  we  purchased  under  this  plan,  from  March  1st  until  fall, 


106 

about  $6,000,  and  this  year  about  $12,000  worth  of  goods;  and  the  work 
has  gone  through  in  splendid  shape. 

We  have  not  confined  our  work  to  Bedford  County  nor  to  the  original 
six  counties  of  my  district.  We  have  shipped,  for  instance,  to  Chester 
County.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  have  shipped  stuff  under  our  plan, 
or  arranged  for  shipment  of  it,  as  far  west  as  Kansas  and  as  far  south  as 
Alabama. 

The  plan  is  simple,  direct,  absolutely  clean  and  economical  to  the 
last  degree.     We  keep  no  books,  because  none  are  necessary. 

We  have  also  a  system  of  keeping  track  of  all  shipments  made  by 
wholesalers,  a  postal  card  advice  from  wholesalers  giving  the  details  of 
shipments,  the  car  number,  bill  of  lading  number,  date  and  all  other 
information  necessary  to  start  a  tracer  in  case  the  shipment  is  delayed  in 
transit.  This  postal  card  is  mailed  to  us  by  the  shipper  at  the  time  ship- 
ment is  made.  That  same  information  is  repeated  by  us  on  a  postal 
card  to  our  member,  with  instructions  that  if  the  freight  has  not  arrived 
at  a  definite  time  stated  on  our  postal,  he  is  to  notify  us.  Where  such 
notice  is  received  we  start  a  tracer  at  our  end  and  advise  the  shipper  to 
start  one  at  his  end  of  the  line. 

Two  or  three  times  we  have  had  delayed  shipments  brought  to  book 
by  tracers,  and  once  we  had  a  lost  shipment  that  was  never  found. 

In  case  of  lost  shipments  the  exchange  handles  the  claim,  and  also  in 
case  of  damaged  shipments.  We  have  always  had  prompt  adjustment  of 
these  claims. 

That,  briefly,  is  our  draft-attached-to-bill-of-lading  plan,  which  we 
think  is  the  best  and  most  economical  method  of  co-operative  purchasing 
devised  up  to  the  present  time. 

No  such  seed  has  ever  been  received  in  our  district  as  that  bought 
under  our  plan.  I  want  to  say  that  the  cleanness  of  our  plan  has  brought 
out  of  the  wholesaler  absolutely  the  best  that  is  in  him.  Last  year  houses 
with  which  we  had  dealt  for  the  last  five  or  six  years  refused  to  quote  the 
exchange  prices  on  alfalfa  seed,  because  they  said  it  was  not  up  to  what 
they  knew  the  exchange  required.  We  have  had  that  occur  with  three 
houses,  a  refusal  to  quote  us  prices  on  material  which  fell  belOw  the  high 
standards  we  require. 

We  never  quote  prices  to  our  members  on  seed  except  it  is  the  best 
the  market  offers,  because  the  best  seed  is  the  cheapest.  The  question 
of  price  we  regard  as  secondary.     That  is  our  purchasing  plan. 

We  are  now  at  work  on  a  development  plan,  using  the  Bedford 
Division  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  as  a  unit  for  the  plan.  We  pro- 
pose to  develop  each  part  of  the  territory  tributarj^  to  this  division  along 
normal  and  profitable  lines  of  production.  Our  proposition  is  to  stand- 
ardize all  products  from  the  very  ground.  We  propose  even  to  select  the 
seed  with  a  view  to  uniformity  of  product;  and  we  propose  to  standardize 
everything  shipped.  That  plan  is  not  in  shape  yet  to  talk  very  definitely 
about  it. 


107 

Yesterday  I  was  in  conference  with  Mr.  Kates,  chairman  of  this 
meeting,  and  with  several  other  gentlemen;  and  I  was  authorized  to  say 
that  the  outlet  so  essential  to  our  plans  for  production  and  standardizing 
products  will  be  furnished  in  part  through  the  earnest  efforts  of  the  best 
people  in  the  City  Hall,  city  officials,  who  have  an  earnest  desire  to  for- 
ward a  movement  which  means  wholesome  food,  brought  here  and  deliv- 
ered by  more  direct  methods. 

This  outlet,  together  with  that  to  be  furnished  through  the  new 
bureau  now  under  consideration,  we  believe  will  ultimately  mean  a  serious 
reduction  in  the  high  cost  of  living.  The  furnishing  of  an  adequate  and 
safe  outlet  should  stimulate  production  and  curtail  waste  and  thereby 
effect  this  reduction. 

Mrs.  Smith:  I  have  such  an  advertising  kind  of  a  mind  that  when 
a  gentleman  presents  a  fact  that  I  feel  ought  to  be  shouted,  I  want  to  get 
up  and  shout.  Last  summer  we  were  exactly  in  the  position  of  these 
farmers  that  Mr.  Ross  told  us  about.  He  has  not  told  you  just  exactly 
how  Serious  a  need  the  farmer  has  with  regard  to  these  seeds  and  fer- 
tilizers at  better  rates,  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  cannot  get  them. 
Many  do  not  want  such  stuff  that  the  houses  that  furnish  them  will  con- 
sider wholesale  rates  for.  That  time  we  were  dealing  with  the  problem 
for  ourselves,  having  gone  to  a  farm  of  our  own  which  had  always  been  a 
tenant  farm,  where  the  weeds  had  been  grown  along  with  the  crops.  We 
had  not  a  bushel  of  oats,  and  we  had  not  even  any  hay  then  and  had  to 
go  to  the  mills,  and  there  we  found  just  what  exists  all  over  the  country — 
that  the  big  mills  have  the  farmer  by  the  throat  and  that  is  a  fact.  If 
there  arie  any  farmers  here  they  will  tell  you  so,  and  to  many  of  you 
business  men  it  is  a  matter  too  deep  for  me  to  explain.  Really,  the  man 
you  like  very  much,  your  local  miller,  perhaps,  has  nothing  to  do  with  it. 
He  is  under  the  dictates  of  some  larger  scheme,  but  in  some  cases  he  is 
a  very  fair-minded  man  and  discusses  it  with  you,  and  sometimes  puts 
up  a  trick  as  he  did  with  me  last  summer,  when  I  went  to  him  and  asked 
how  much  corn  was  a  bushel.  He  said,  "80  cents."  I  said,  ''How  much 
do  you  want  for  cracked  corn,"  and  he  said,  "90  cents."  Wasn't  that 
kind  to  me,  selling  me  cracked  corn  and  only  charging  me  ten  cents  for 
it?  I  said,  "Just  what  do  you  do  with  the  corn  meal?"  He  said, 
"Nothing."  A  kind  of  a  red  glow  went  up  over  his  face  and  he  looked  at 
me  with  a  serious  eye,  I  guess  saying,  "She  is  a  deep  one;  she  certainly 
gets  me  into  things  I  didn't  know  I  was  going  up  against."  He  thought 
that  I  thought  that  the  whole  corn  was  there.  Some  of  us  do  think  that. 
They  sell  whole  corn  at  80  cents  and  sell  cracked  com  at  90  cents.  What 
do  they  sell  corn  meal  for? — $1.60  a  hundred. 

We  have  with  us  Mr.  Lardner  Howell,  of  the  Girard  Trust  Company, 
who  is  going  to  speak  to  us  for  a  few  moments  on  the  "Trustee — Landlord 
and  the  Farm  Bureau."    It  is  interesting  to  those  who  own  farms  to  know 


108 

what  the  trust  companies  who  have  charge  of  their  estates  can  do  with 
farms.  I  am  glad  to  testify  personally  to  the  fact  that  the  Girard  Trust 
Company  has  taken  a  novel  and  constructive  attitude  towards  the  whole 
farm  question.  It  is  very  pleasant  to  know  they  are  using  experts,  and  I 
take  pleasure  in  introducing  Mr.  Howell. 


TRUSTEE— LANDLORD  AND  THE  FARM  BUREAU. 


Lardner  Howell,  Esquire, 
Assistant  Trust  Officer,  Girard  Trust  Company,  Philadelphia. 


Girard  Trust  Company  appreciates  the  courtesy  of  the  invitation 
to  join  in  the  movement  to  bring  to  a  better  understanding  the  relationship 
between  the  country  and  the  city,  and  not  only  the  privilege  of  taking  part 
in  this  programme,  but  the  opportunity  afforded  to  its  tenant  farmers  by 
the  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank  to  participate  in  the  com  contest.  Six 
entries  have  been  made  by  its  tenant  farmers. 

The  company,  in  its  fiduciary  capacity,  is  steward  of  several  farms, 
of  which  fourteen  are  located  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Philadelphia. 
In  fulfilling  its  duties  as  steward,  it  has  had  Mr.  John  M.  Okie,  of  its  Real 
Estate  Department,  co-operate  with  its  tenant  farmers  for  the  past  six 
or  seven  years.  Bulletins  issued  by  the  government  and  state  colleges 
have  been  distributed,  and,  by  the  able  assistance  of  Professor  Hayward 
of  the  Delaware  State  Experiment  Station,  practical  demonstrations  on 
several  of  its  farms  have  been  made,  which  have  been  of  material  assistance, 
not  only  to  the  farms  visited,  but  as  well  to  the  adjoining  properties;  and, 
in  addition,  by  these  demonstrations  a  community  interest  has  been 
awakened.  Last  spring  Mr.  Okie  escorted  a  delegation  of  six  or  seven  of 
the  tenant  farmers  to  the  Delaware  Experiment  Station  on  Farmers'  Day. 

With  the  advent  of  the  county  agent,  it  is  felt  that  many  vexing 
problems  may  be  met,  and  the  farms  further  developed  by  the  close  co- 
operation of  the  landlord,  tenant  farmer  and  county  agent. 

The  tenant  farmer  has  many  responsibilities,  and  has  not  at  his  com- 
mand,, as  has  a  president  of  a  bank  or  trust  company,  the  assistance  of  its 
officers  and  corps  of  efficient  bookkeepers  to  work  out  the  problems  arising 
from  day  to  day.  He  alone  meets  the  situation.  In  his  position  he  is 
independent  and,  by  the  fact  of  his  independence,  is  very  dependent. 

Efficiency  is  one  of  the  largest  assets  a  farmer  can  accumulate,  and 
with  the  assistance  of  the  farm  agent  this  efficiency  may  be  obtained.  For 
example,  much  time  and  labor  are  lost  in  tilling  small  fenced-in  fields,  and 
it  may  be  shown  that  part  of  this  work  is  unnecessary  and  could  be  avoided 
under  proper  direction,  and  also  that,  by  making  conditions  sanitary,  the 
dairyman  may  be  able  to  obtain  a  higher  price  for  his  products.  The 
landlord,  in  co-operating  with  his  tenant  with  this  end  in  view,  is  thereby 
not  only  more  certain  of  the  collection  of  the  rent,  but  is,  by  this  co-opera- 
tion, aiding  in  the  producing  of  the  rent  and  assisting  in  making  his  tenant 
of  value  to  the  community. 

(109) 


no 

Mrs.  Smith:  The  point  of  view  presented  just  now  was  exceedingly 
interesting,  especially  as  it  is  suited  to  the  city  man  who  needs  broader 
points  of  view  on  the  farm  question.  As  you  know  yourselves,  nobody  but 
a  man  who  is  used  to  farming  and  handling  farms  all  the  time  can  very 
often  work  out  these  problems  regarding  the  farm. 

We  have  got  some  farmers  here  today,  and  I  would  like  to  ask  them 
what  they  think  of  the  Six  County  Farmers'  Exchange  that  Mr.  Ross 
spoke  about.  We  have  a  few  moments  for  discussion,  and  I  would  like  to 
hear  some  of  the  farmers  say  a  word  on  the  need  of  ^'buying-associations" 
in  farm  districts.  We  have  got  some  men  here  who  are  actual  farmers, 
who  know  all  about  the  ins  and  outs  of  farming.  I  would  like  to  hear  from 
those  gentlemen.  What  do  they  think — that  the  farmers  need  to  get 
together  on  the  buying  proposition? 

Dr.  J.  Russell  Smith:  I  cannot  pose  as  an  expert  farmer,  but  I 
happened  to  get  to  a  place  where  the  Six  County  Farmers'  Association  was 
doing  business.  I  wanted  to  get  some  beans  and  I  wanted  about  eight 
bushels.  I  did  not  know  what  kind  I  needed  and  I  did  not  know  where  to 
buy  them.  I  asked  them  to  tell  me  what  kind  and  where  to  buy  them.  I 
signed  a  slip,  paid  a  quarter,  got  good  beans  and  I  saved  about  two  dollars 
on  the  transaction  besides  the  saving  of  time.  It  was  a  very  profitable 
transaction  to  me. 

Mrs.  Garrett:  I  am  not  a  farmer.  My  husband,  who  is  a  farmer, 
has  gone  out  and  I  wish  he  were  here  to  tell  you  this.  I  wish  somebody 
had  bought  our  alfalfa  seed  last  summer.  I  think  if  we  had  advertised 
through  the  farm  bureau,  it  would  have  been  a  very  good  thing  for  the 
Garrett  family. 

Mrs.  Smith:  I  understood  that  the  farmers  all  over  the  state  can  join 
and  that  arrangement  can  be  made  whereby  carloads  of  fertilizers  and  seeds 
can  come  to  our  local  districts. 

Mr.  Ross:  It  is  all  a  wholesale  business,  no  matter  what  we  order. 
There  are  two  advantages :  in  the  first  place,  by  getting  enough  to  buy  in 
carload  lots  you  get  the  carload  rate;  in  the  second  place,  when  you  buy 
them  they  are  all  shipped  together.  Where  a  number  of  neighbors  get 
together,  one  man  can  go  and  bring  it  all  back  instead  of  all  of  them. 

Mrs.  Garrett:  Can  we  get  lime  from  your  organization? 

Mr.  Ross:  In  Chester  County  they  have  their  own  lime. 

Mrs.  Smith  :  The  lime  as  a  community  proposition  is  one  of  the  things 
we  hope  to  take  up  at  the  meeting,  because  it  is  a  question  of  development 
and  transportation.  Mr.  Prouty,  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission, 
was  to  speak  on  that  question,  but  the  sudden  death  of  a  member  of  the 
Commission  placed  added  duties  of  the  Commerce  Commission  on  him, 
and  he  could  not  get  away  from  Washington.     I  am  very  sorry. 


Ill 

I  have  been  closely  in  communication  with  some  of  the  Hme  dealers, 
because  I  am  interested  in  knowing  the  length  of  time  it  takes  to  make  it 
right.  I  was  born  right  next  to  a  lime  quarry,  so  I  do  not  know  what 
other  people  do  who  do  not  have  lime  quarries  next  door  to  them.  I  find 
in  several  sections  of  the  country  they  send  hundreds  of  miles  for  lime. 
It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  a  terrible  condition  to  be  without  lime.  It  takes 
a  railroad  about  a  year  and  a  half  to  make  a  rate  on  lime  for  a  certain 
section.  It  seems  to  take  all  the  red  tape  that  there  is  in  the  railroad 
business — that  is,  with  some  railroads.  Some  are  more  efficient.  I  have 
been  waiting  to  find  out  how  long  it  would  take  a  railroad  to  make  a  rate 
between  our  section  of  the  country  and  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.  I  think 
they  have  been  at  it  about  eight  months  now.  That  is  one  of  the  questions 
that  we  want  to  take  up  here,  but  I  hope  there  will  be  time  later.  Time 
is  moving  on  and  we  have  got  to  cut  this  short.  We  want  to  hear  Mr. 
Don  Blair  speak  to  us  on  the  question  on  increasing  grain  production. 

Mr.  Kates  will  offer  a  suggestion  at  this  point. 

Mr.  Kates:  I  want  to  read  again  the  two  closing  paragraphs  in  the 
editorial  that  I  read  to  you  this  morning.  In  view  of  what  you  have 
heard,  I  would  hope  that  some  action  might  be  expressed  in  the  nature  of  a 
resolution,  which  I  have  here.  I  believe  that  if  this  resolution  was  endorsed 
by  those  that  are  present  here,  that  we  could  establish  a  foothold  for  the 
work  in  Philadelphia  such  as  has  been  indicated  by  Mr.  Ross  in  his  able 
presentation  of  the  work  he  has  in  hand,  which,  as  you  will  remember, 
has  the  endorsement  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture. 
What  I  said  early  this  morning  I  thought  was  a  challenge. 

Editorial  referred  to  and  read  by  Mr.  Kates  earlier  in  the  session  is 
as  follows: 

The  Corn  Show:  Will  It  Help  Producer  and  Consumer? 
(Public  Ledger,  December  5,  1913) 

"President  Calwell  and  the  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank  are  to  be 
congratulated  upon  the  initiation  of  what  is  called  their  Corn  Show. 
This  conference  and  exhibit  is  much  broader  in  its  activities  than  the 
attempt  to  stimulate  farmers  to  grow  two  ears  of  corn  where  one  grew  be- 
fore; it  is  the  beginning  of  a  movement  to  make  the  food  supply  plentiful 
and  cheap;  to  help  the  farmer  by  aiding  him  to  help  the  consumer;  to 
bring  the  two  classes  together  with  directness  and  to  ehminate,  if  not  all 
middlemen,  at  least  some  of  the  intervening  profit-takers. 

The  originators  of  the  Com  Show  have  enlisted  the  hearty  co-operation 
of  the  great  educational  institutions  of  the  state,  practically  every  trade 
body  and  commercial  instrumentality  of  the  city,  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road Company  and  improvement  and  other  public  spirited  organizations. 
They  propose  to  form  a  plan  of  action  which  shall  provide  better  marketing 


112 

facilities,  for  quick  transportation,  for  the  uplift  of  the  producer  of  food 
stuffs,  for  market  bureaus  to  help  along  the  produce  from  the  farm  to  the 
household  and,  finally,  as  specific  instrumentalities  to  those  ends,  to  insti- 
tute a  farm  bureau  in  this  city  which  shall  act  as  a  clearing  house  for  the 
farmers  of  this  and  the  two  contiguous  states. 

The  consumer  is  to  have  the  means  of  dealing  with  the  farmer.  The 
Corn  Show  and  its  eventual  bureau  are  not  to  be  agencies  to  teach 
farmers  how  to  grow  crops;  other  agencies  are  engaged  in  that  work, 
but  they  propose  to  help  the  farmer  by  bringing  him  into  instant  and 
profitable  contact  with  the  consumers  and  from  that  profitable  conjunc- 
tion the  farming  interest  will  receive  its  stimulus  and  ample  reward. 

Let  us  hope  the  projectors  will  actually  accomplish  something.  The 
meetings  are  instructive  and  interesting;  but  there  have  been  so  many 
meetings  and  so  many  pamphlets,  speeches  and  prospectuses  that  an 
anxious  and  suspicious  world  has  arrived  at  the  point  of  demanding  some 
concrete  result. 

The  Corn  Show  and  the  activities  of  its  public-spirited,  enthusiastic 
supporters  will  prove  a  failure  if  the  project  shall  not  be  pursued  to  the 
logical  end  of  attaining  some  practical  result,  but  if  only  a  beginning  shall 
be  made  in  bringing  a  few  farmers  with  their  butter  and  other  produce 
to  the  doors  of  a  few  consumers  they  will  perform  more  than  scores  of 
similar  movements  which  ended  in  mere  talk. 

Let  Philadelphia  try  one  experiment;  let  it  open  the  way  from  the 
farm  to  the  city  household;  let  it  make  one  successful  step  in  quickening 
and  cheapening  transportation;  let  it  institute  one  new  market  or  cajole 
one  little  band  of  genuine  producers  into  dealings  with  consumers,  and 
then  it  will  actually  prove  of  benefit." 

I  therefore  present  this  resolution,  which  I  very  much  hope  will 
receive  your  endorsement. 

"That  the  officers,  who  have  presided  at  the  Corn  Show  and  the 
Agricultural  Conference,  form  a  committee  of  eleven  to  bring  before  the 
appropriate  city  department  and  the  consuming  public  the  means  or 
possible  method  of  taking  some  action  towards  bringing  the  farmer  into 
better  and  closer  relation  with  the  city  consumer.'' 

While  I  recognize  the  informality  of  an  endorsement  such  as  you  will 
give,  I  wish  to  say  that  if  you  will  endorse  this,  it  will  be  of  extreme  value 
towards  carrying  it  to  a  definite  conclusion.  I  see  Dr.  King  here,  w^ho  is 
an  authority  on  these  matters,  and  I  know  he  has  carried  on  some  investi- 
gations for  one  of  the  departments  of  the  city  somewhat  along  these  lines. 
Will  Dr.  King  be  good  enough  to  indicate  whether  the  appropriate  depart- 
ment we  would  propose  to  approach  with  this  committee  would  receive 
us  with  satisfaction,  or  would  it  be  distasteful?  An  answer  from  you 
would  probably  guide  us  towards  a  closer  solution. 


113 

Dr.  King:  I  have  undertaken  several  studies  of  giving  help  to  the 
Philadelphia  consumer,  and  every  indication  seems  to  point  to  the  fact 
that  a  bureau  such  as  the  chairman  suggests  would  be  of  inestimable 
value,  if  it  did  nothing  more  than  give  the  farmer  the  information  that  the 
farmer  wants  in  marketing  his  produce,  and  to  get  to  the  consumer  some 
of  the  information  the  consumer  would  be  glad  to  receive.  I  am  very 
sure  that  any  department  that  would  be  approached  on  this  subject  by 
such  an  assemblage  as  this  would  receive  such  a  suggestion  most  heartily 
indeed. 

Mr.  Kates:  Mr.  Ross,  have  you  anything  to  say  in  relation  to  this 
resolution? 

Mr.  Ross:  I  would  Hke  to  carry  something  of  that  sort  to  my  people. 
They  are  ready  to  produce,  but  they  feel  that  the  outlet  for  what  they 
produce  is  hard  to  find.  If  such  a  step  as  this  were  taken  in  Philadelphia, 
I  am  satisfied  that  Philadelphia  would  be  the  objective  point  for  the 
produce. 

Mr.  Kates:  It  would  also  serve  New  Jersey,  Delaware  and  Mary- 
land, as  well  as  Pennsylvania  and  even  a  wider  radius.  I  now  will 
present  this  resolution  and  ask  your  endorsement  to  be  indicated  by  rais- 
ing your  hand.  I  really  feel  that  this  is  a  somewhat  serious  moment,  and 
if  you  take  it  seriously  I  trust  that  you  will  endorse  it.  I  will  repeat  the 
resolution : 

[Resolution  again  read.] 

Does  this  resolution  meet  with  your  endorsement?  If  so,  will  you 
kindly  express  it  by  the  uplifted  hand? 

[The  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted.] 

Mr.  Kates:  I  thank  you  very  much  in  the  name  of  all  of  us  who 
have  been  concerned  with  organizing  this  conference. 

Mrs.  Smith:  You  will  remember  the  allusion  yesterday  to  the 
remarkable  seed  work  being  done  in  Denmark  for  the  protection  of  seeds. 
I  want  you  to  know  that  Mr.  Don  Blair  is  one  of  the  few  men  of  this 
country  who  is  carrying  on,  on  his  own  hook  and  through  his  own 
endeavors,  the  seed-breeding  work  in  Illinois.  That  is  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  pieces  of  work  being  done  along  these  lines  in  this  country. 
It  has  been  known  to  only  a  few  people,  but  he  is  a  man  of  great  experi- 
ence  along  these  lines  and  has  a  remarkable  work  to  show  you  this  morn- 
ing and  has  slides  illustrating  his  work.  I  take  great  pleasure  in  intro- 
ducing to  you  Mr.  Don  Blair. 


INCREASING  GRAIN  PRODUCTION. 


By  Don  Blair, 

Sugar  Grove,  111. 


There  is  but  little  question  that  the  matter  of  increasing  grain  pro- 
duction is  of  vital  importance  not  only  to  the  agricultural  public  but  to 
the  commonwealth  as  a  whole. 

Our  farmers  in  the  Middle  West,  especially,  have  been  exceedingly 
worried  in  the  last  few  years,  in  the  endeavor  to  make  the  owning  of 
two  and  three  hundred  dollar  per  acre  land  a  paying  investment  and  to  do 
this  from  year  to  year  by  practicing  general  farming.  The  failure  in  this 
has  resulted  in  a  widespread  movement  towards  better  farming.  More 
net  returns  per  acre  tilled  is  the  one  thought  uppermost  in  the  minds  of 
both  the  thinking  farmer  and  his  city  cousin.  This  tendency  towards 
better  agricultural  practice  has  become  so  widespread  that  it  is  being 
taken  up  by  all  classes,  from  the  richest  in  the  land  to  the  poorest,  and 
in  no  other  period  in  the  growth  of  this  country  has  such  an  interest  been 
taken  in  the  farmer  and  his  results. 

Naturally  there  is  the  usual  following  of  faddists  and  as  a  result, 
unfortunately,  people  of  this  class  often  occupy  more  of  the  limelight 
than  the  more  serious,  conscientious  workman.  Hearsay  utterances 
based  on  plausible  theories  have  done  much  to  retard  systematic  develop- 
ment. Many  theories  have  been  built  on  a  veritable  foundation  of  sand 
and  by  constant  repetition  have  been  calmly  accepted  as  proven  facts. 
Thus,  the  farmer  who  ultimately  tries  them  all  out  is  becoming  somewhat 
skeptical  of  things  new.  However,  I  believe  that  we  are  rapidly  passing 
through  this  stage  of  theoretical  fancies  and  are  now  reaching  the  second 
stage  of  agricultural  improvement  or  that  of  practical  common-sense 
bettering  of  conditions,  based  on  proven  facts.  Consequently,  there  will 
be  fewer  theories  advanced  and  more  practical  results  obtained. 

Increased  grain  production  is  essential  and  is  comparatively  easy  of 
accomplishment.  System  is  the  greatest  need.  It  is  the  little  things 
that  will  make  the  difference.  If  the  average  farmer  could  have  as  clear 
an  understanding  of  the  business  of  farming  as  the  manufacturer  has  of 
his  business  and,  further,  if  the  farmer  would  pay  as  strict  attention  to 
details  as  the  same  manufacturer,  a  wonderful  increase  in  net  return 
would  be  the  result. 

It  is  true  that  very  little  is  known  by  the  average  farmer  relative 
to  the  plants  grown  commercially  on  his  farm;  taking  this  as  a  depart- 
ment practically  no  attention  has  been  given  it  as  compared  with  the 

(114) 


115 

Livestock  Department.  We  recognize  that  plant  and  animal  life  are 
identical  and  the  laws  that  govern  one  must  necessarily  govern  the  other. 
We  further  believe  that  the  chief  object  of  the  parents  living  is  to  produce 
offspring  and  to  give  these  offspring  a  fair  start  in  life.  The  simple  little 
•things  have  not  been  understood  by  the  average  farmer  such  as  the 
flower,  structure  of  the  different  plants,  their  method  of  reproduction  and 
the  interior  structure  of  the  plants.  Such  knowledge  is  in  order  that  he 
may  be  sure  of  the  adaptation  of  different  plants  to  different  soils  and 
climatic  conditions. 

I  am  very  much  afraid  that  we  have  been  endeavoring  to  teach  a 
more  complicated  system  of  practice  before  a  systematic  foundation  has 
been  established.  We  should  start  at  the  beginning  with  agricultural 
advice  much  the  same  as  a  child  is  started  in  the  primary  grades  and  not 
with  the  latest  theories  of  any  accepted  authority. 

The  factors  most  essential  in  increased  grain  production  are  the 
seed,  preparation  of  the  seed  bed,  crop  rotation  and  the  chemical  and 
physical  condition  of  the  soil. 

The  matter  of  seed:  each  variety  must  necessarily  be  adapted  to  the 
soil  and  climatic  conditions  where  it  is  to  be  grown.  Every  condition 
favorable  to  the  growth  of  the  plant  must  be  provided  for  and  this  can 
only  be  done  from  intimate  knowledge  with  the  qualifications  and  needs 
of  the  various  varieties,  as  adapted  to  each  and  every  kind  of  soil  and 
climatic  condition.  In  grains  our  variety  classification  at  the  present 
time  is  uncertain,  one  variety  is  found  masquerading  under  any  number 
of  names  with  no  system  whatsoever.  The  farmer  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  country  may  be  growing  a  variety  of  oats  which  he  presumes  to  be 
the  Swedish  Select  and  adapted  to  his  particular  section  but  for  some 
reason  or  another  the  variety  he  is  growing  will  not  produce  successfully 
and  upon  investigation  it  may  be  found  that  he  is  growing  a  variety  quite 
different  from  that  which  the  name  implies  and  not  in  any-  way  adapted 
to  his  conditions. 

The  first  essential  thing  then  in  the  matter  of  seed  is  a  systematic 
classification  of  varieties.  This  classification  when  made  should  be  pub- 
lished repeatedly  and  widely,  together,  with  a  complete  description  of 
each  variety  and  the  soil  and  climatic  conditions  in  which  it  is  best 
adapted.  This  is  fundamental  and  no  systematic  development  can  be 
made  until  this  is  done.  Allowing  then  that  we  have  a  known  variety 
adapted  to  soil  and  climatic  conditions  under  which  we  are  operating  and 
knowing  further  the  weaknesses  and  strength  of  the  particular  soil  on 
which  the  crop  is  to  be  grown,  the  first  step  is  accomplished  and  next 
comes  the  preparation  of  the  seed  for  seeding. 

We  have  found  from  our  own  experience  after  repeated  trials  that 
the  matter  of  grading  seed  is  not  of  such  great  importance  as  many 
believe.  While  it  is  an  important  thing  that  seed  be  graded  in  order  to 
eliminate  weed  seeds  and  immature  grains,  there  is  not  the  large  difference 


116 

noted  in  the  relative  productivity  between  the  largest,  plumpest  kernels 
and  the  smaller  or  medium  sized  kernels  of  the  same  variety. 

That  which  is  most  essential,  however,  is  that  the  exact  parentage 
of  the  seed  be  known,  in  other  words,  ancestry  is  of  far  greater  importance 
than  the  relative  size  of  the  seed  itself.  The  germ  plays  a  greater  part 
in  the  ultimate  commercial  worth  of  the  plant  than  the  amount  of  plant 
food  contained  within  the  seed.  Therefore,  while  we  like  to  plant  nice 
large  kernels,  they  need  not  necessarily  be  the  plumpest  or  the  largest, 
but  they  must  be  free  from  weed  seeds.  There  is  no  use  whatsoever  in 
repeatedly  planting  the  same  weed  seeds  year  after  year,  they  come  easy 
enough  without  planting. 

The  preparation  of  the  seed  bed  should  be  given  much  attention; 
conditions  differ,  of  course,  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  but  in  the 
main  the  more  finely  pulverized,  the  more  mellow  the  seed  bed  the  better 
the  chances  of  a  maximum  crop.  Harrow  and  re-harrow  repeatedly,  for 
every  harrowing  will  add  to  the  crop. 

The  matter  of  seeding  is  also  of  importance.  We  have  preferred 
using  a  single  disk  drill,  although  it  is  not  necessary.  Just  as  good 
results  have  been  secured  from  broadcasting,  but  drilling  will  give  a 
greater  advantage  in  a  dry  season  owing  to  a  more  even  placing  and 
covering  of  the  seed. 

The  rate  of  seeding  is  essential;  it  is  always  our  practice  with  oats 
in  particular  to  plant  rather  thickly,  from  three  to  four  bushels  per  acre. 
We  do  this  largely  to  prevent  stooling  or  tillering.  Although  large  heads 
are  generally  secured  on  the  stools,  still  the  berry  produced  on  the  stool 
will  in  turn  produce  a  weaker  plant  than  the  berry  from  the  parent  stalk 
and  ultimately  will  result  in  deterioration  of  the  crop  from  year  to  year. 
Further,  by  ehmination  of  stools,  early  ripening,  more  even  growth  and  a 
less  proportion  of  by-product  or  straw,  a  greater  proportion  of  salable 
product  or  oats  is  secured.  We  would  much  prefer  the  complete  ehmina- 
tion of  stooling  if  for  no  other  reason  than  to  secure  a  practically  com- 
plete control  of  the  crop.  From  so  many  berries  planted  of  a  certain 
germination  so  many  plants  will  be  secured  and  only  so  many,  and  the 
matter  of  uncertainty  with  reference  to  stand  would  be  done  away  with. 

With  wheat  we  prefer  planting  from  one  and  a  half,  to  one  bushel  and 
three  pecks  and  barley  from  two  to  two  and  a  half  bushels  per  acre. 

One  of  the  main  difiiculties  with  oats  has  been  that  plants  are 
caught  in  the  so-called  milk  stage  by  warm  dry  weather  and  the  filhng 
of  the  berry  is  seriously  interfered  with.  But  by  using  a  variety  adapted 
and  planting  early  in  the  spring  the  plants  will  be  over  this  stage  before 
they  are  injured  by  the  hot  weather. 

Crop  rotation  and  intensive  farming  are  as  important  as  any  other 
departments.  It  is  useless  to  presume  that  we  can  secure  maximum 
returns  by  continually  cropping  year  after  year  without  a  change.  One 
crop  must  follow  another  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  the  soil  in  the  best 


117 

possible  condition  for  the  succeeding  crop.  This  naturally  varies  with 
each  section  of  the  country  but  in  its  essentials  is  much  the  same  all  over. 
A  cultivated  crop  should  be  followed  by  small  grain  and  this  in  turn 
followed  by  a  legume  or  nitrogen  restoring  crop. 

Intensive  farming  can  never  be  practiced  until  the  acreage  operated 
by  the  individual  is  cut  down  to  smaller  size.  We  try  to  farm  too  much 
by  scratching  it  over  rather  than  doing  a  little  and  doing  it  well. 

As  a  matter  of  illustration  of  the  results  to  be  obtained  from  follow- 
ing carefully  the  above-named  points  I  have  in  mind  two  farmers  living 
side  by  side  who  this  last  year  secured  the  same  seed  from  the  same  source 
and  one  by  ''slipshod  rule  of  thumb '^  methods  secured  thirty-two  bushels 
of  oats  per  acre  and  the  other,  a  wide-awake  up-to-date  business  farmer, 
secured  seventy  bushels  per  acre.  The  reason  for  the  difference  is  simple 
and  is  accounted  for  from  the  systematic  intelligent  business  methods  of 
one  as  compared  with  a  haphazard  trust  to  Providence  methods  of  the 
other.  I  could  give  numerous  illustrations  to  the  same  thing  but  my 
contention  is,  merely,  that  the  simple  things,  such  as  the  seed,  prepara- 
tion of  same,  seed  bed  and  condition  of  soil  can  all  be  easily  governed  by 
the  individual  operator  and  will  make  the  difference  between  farming  at  a 
profit  and  farming  at  a  loss. 

One  point  that  I  wish  to  make  most  emphatic  is  the  classification  of 
varieties.  This  alone  will  result  in  astounding  increase  in  production. 
Provided  no  other  way  for  this  classification  could  be  evolved  I  would 
be  in  favor  of  placing  it  under  government  supervision  and  that  no  new 
variety  of  grain  may  be  allowed  introduction  to  the  American  public 
without  being  accompanied  with  a  guarantee  pedigree. 

This  same  principle  should  not  only  apply  to  small  grain  but  corn 
as  well.  The  selection  of  seed,  adaptation  to  conditions  under  which  it 
is  to  be  grown  and  seed  bed  are  as  thoroughly  fundamental  in  this  as  in 
small  grain  and  we  cannot  hope  to  secure  maximum  returns  until  a 
systematic  form  of  educational  campaign  is  carried  on.  The  principles  of 
instruction  should  be  agreed  upon  by  all  known  and  accepted  authorities. 
It  is  useless  for  a  dozen  theories  to  be  advanced  on  the  same  subject  by  a 
like  number  of  authorities.  It  confuses  the  farmer,  as  he  is  not  in  a 
position  to  recognize  the  standing  of  one  authority  against  another  and 
is  more  liable  to  follow  the  teaching  of  the  wrong  one.  Those  who  have 
the  little  knowledge  are  generally  the  loudest  in  advancing  their  theories. 
It  results  in  further  harm  by  antagonizing  the  farmer  against  future 
development.  We  will  take  for  example  the  rate  of  seeding,  it  does  not 
require  a  dihgent  search  to  find  every  possible  rate  of  seeding  advised  and 
after  reading  some  of  the  suggestions  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  the 
theories  are  established  on  actual  results. 

Among  other  things  incident  to  increased  grain  production  is  the 
seed  plat.  Every  farm  big  or  small  should  have  a  few  acres  set  aside  for 
growing  the  seed  for  the  coming  year.     By  this  means  it  is  possible  to 


118 

secure  the  very  best  seed  obtainable  and  by  looking  ahead  one  year  maxi- 
mum production  seed  for  the  crop  to  follow  is  obtained.  Change  seed 
frequently.  This  year  the  seed  patch  may  be  used  for  corn,  next  year 
for  oats  and  so  on  every  year  procuring  a  small  amount  of  some  kind  of 
seed;  thus  keeping  the  seed  patch  constantly  busy. 

Seed  should,  by  all  means,  be  tested  for  germination  before  planting, 
not  only  must  ^Hest  your  seed  corn"  be  a  motto  but  test  all  seeds;  this 
is  the  only  way  that  we  can  definitely  decided  the  rate  of  seeding. 

Another  great  field  for  increased  grain  production  and  one  which  has 
been  touched  but  little  is  that  of  plant  breeding;  from  results  so  far 
obtained  we  can  see  a  wonderful  future  to  be  accomplished  by  this  work. 
Only  a  beginning  has  been  made,  the  varieties  now  grown  can  be  com- 
pared with  scrub  livestock  and  when  one  stops  to  consider  the  wonderful 
stride  made  in  livestock  breeding  we  can  realize  the  future  ahead  for  the 
plant  breeder.  With  this  in  view,  twenty  years  from  now  we  will  expect 
to  see  double  the  production  per  acre  as  now  obtained. 

The  work  of  breeding  for  a  convenience  of  classification  has  been 
divided  into  four  divisions;  namely,  selection  which  is  not  in  its  truest 
sense  breeding  but  is  purely  the  selection  year  after  year  of  heads  or 
ears  whether  grain  or  corn  with  the  idea  to  increase  the  productiveness 
of  the  particular  strain  grown.  No  blood  lines  whatsoever  are  interfered 
with  and  but  very  little  progress  can  be  made. 

Second  division  is  known  as  regeneration  or  breeding  within  a  variety 
and  consists  of  the  selection  of  two  strains  of  the  same  variety  which 
have  been  grown  under  different  soil  and  climatic  conditions  and  com- 
bining the  blood  of  these.  The  idea  involved  is  that  of  regenerating  the 
particular  variety  bred. 

Third  is  known  as  simple  crossing  and  is  the  crossing  of  two  distinct 
varieties.  Considerable  improvement  can  be  made  with  the  practice  of 
simple  crossing.  The  results  have  been  limited  in  favor  of  the  fourth 
division  or  composite  crossing,  which  is  the  infusing  of  the  blood  of  three 
or  more  varieties  into  a  single  berry  by  a  series  of  simple  crosses.  In 
the  second  or  third  generation  from  the  berries  so  procured  a  maximum 
number  of  types  are  secured  to  select  from  by  the  breaking  down  of  the 
blood  lines  of  this  multiple  of  varieties. 

For  example,  we  will  start  with  eight  varieties  of  oats  the  first  year, 
we  have  four  simple  crosses  and  in  the  next  stage  two  simples  crosses  and 
finally  but  one  cross  and  the  blood  of  all  the  original  eight  varieties  are 
combined  into  the  result  of  this  last  cross.  By  planting  this  any  number 
of  new  and  distinct  types  are  ready  for  selection  purposes.  Breeding, 
once  understood,  is  comparatively  easy  of  accomplishment  but  takes 
considerable  time  and  patience  to  produce  results.  However,  bearing  in 
mind  again  the  enormous  strides  that  have  been  made  with  animal  breed- 
ing, to  say  that  plant  breeding  is  worth  while  is  to  say  but  little.  It  will 
be  but  a  short  while  until  the  plant  breeder,  given  time,  can  fill  almost 
any  order. 


119 

In  a  brief  resume  then,  there  are  really  three  forms  of  increasing 
grain  production :  one  is  following  the  simple  common-sense  rules  already 
known  relative  to  selection  of  seed,  seed  bed,  rate  of  seeding,  etc.; 
second,  of  which  little  is  known,  is  the  improvement  by  means  of  breeding, 
but  most  important  and  our  greatest  need  at  the  present  time  is  system. 

[The  morning  session  at  this  point  adjourned  until  2  p.  m.] 


Friday,  December  5,    1913,   2   p.   m. 


Honorary  Chairman,  Alba  Johnson,  Esquire,  President,  Baldwin  Loco- 
motive Works. 

Mr.  Johnson:  Whatever  draws  the  city  and  country  closer  together 
makes  for  the  welfare  of  both,  and  also  means  for  the  farmer  more  money, 
for  the  railroads  more  traffic,  and  for  the  community  lower  prices. 

The  broader  problems  connected  with  the  production,  transportation 
and  distribution  of  food  products,  will  bring  about  more  intelligent  laws, 
and  will  conduce,  therefore,  to  the  welfare  of  both  the  producer  and  of  the 
consumer.  • 

That  in  a  general  way  as  I  understand  it  is  the  underlying  thought 
which  prompts  this  conference. 

The  first  speaker  upon  the  programme  for  this  afternoon  is  the  Honor- 
able Charles  A.  Prouty,  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  who  was 
to  have  spoken  upon  the  subject  of  "Agricultural  Freight  as  a  Means  of 
Rural  Development."  Commissioner  Prouty  is  a  man  of  such  ripe  knowl- 
edge upon  the  freight  subject,  pertaining  to  transportation,  that  it  is 
a  serious  disappointment  to  us  that  his  official  duties  in  Washington, 
caused  by  sudden  removal  by  death  of  certain  members  of  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission,  has  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  be  present,  and 
therefore  we  shall  not  have  the  pleasure  of  listening  to  his  address. 

Chairman,  Mrs.  Smith:  The  first  address  of  the  afternoon  will  be 
one  upon  the  subject  of  "Municipal  Markets"  by  Hon.  Cyrus  C.  Miller. 

Hon.  Cyrus  C.  Miller,  Chairman,  Mayor  of  New  York's  Commit- 
tee on  Municipal  Markets  and  President  of  the  Borough  of  the  Bronx :  I 
propose  to  talk  to  you  on  the  subject  of  "Municipal  Terminal  Markets," 
amplifying  the  thought  that  our  intensive  farming,  and  the  larger  areas 
which  are  now  planted  with  fruit  trees  and  crops,  foretell  a  very  serious 
danger  not  only  to  the  people  who  are  doing  the  planting  but  to  the  people 
in  the  cities  who  ought  to  get  the  results  of  what  is  planted.  In  other 
words,  we  are  threatened  ^vith  overproduction  unless  we  increase  our 
terminal  and  distribution  facilities,  as  well  as  our  production. 

I  shall  be  very  glad  to  answer  any  questions  if  time  allows  after  I  have 
finished  my  address. 


THE  NECESSITY   FOR  TERMINAL   MARKETS. 


By  Hon.  Cyrus  C.  Miller, 

President  of  the  Borough  of  the  Bronx;  Chairman  of  the  Mayor's  Market 
Commission  of  the  City  of  New  York. 


A  witness  before  the  Mayor's  Market  Commission  of  New  York 
City  recently  testified  that  there  were  enough  peach  trees  in  the  orchards 
of  western  New  York  to  produce  a  crop  of  10,000  carloads  of  peaches  in 
five  or  six  years.  Fifteen  years  ago  Delaware  shipped  out  9,000  cars 
of  peaches  in  one  year  and  a  few  years  ago  Georgia  shipped  out  7,'200 
carloads. 

In  a  recently  pubHshed  newspaper  article  I  read  that  the  apple  crop 
in  the  Northwest  for  1913  was  approximately  10,000  cars  of  fruit;  by 
1916  they  estimate  that  the  output  will  be  at  least  30,000  cars,  and  by 
1920,  a  total  of  60,000  cars.  At  present  prices  this  will  mean  finding  a 
market  for  $51,000,000  worth  of  fruit.  Other  districts  throughout  the 
country  during  the  past  ten  years  have  been  planted  in  large  areas  with 
fruit  and  other  food  products  which  must  be  distributed  among  the  cities 
and  towns.  The  population  of  the  cities  has  grown  apace  in  the  same 
period,  but  their  markets  have  not  kept  pace  either  with  the  increase 
in  production  nor  the  potential  increase  in  consumption.  Producers' 
associations,  railroads  and  middlemen  are  effecting  the  best  distribution  of 
crops  possible  with  the  means  at  their  command,  but  in  the  cities  the  best 
means  available  today  are  the  makeshifts  that  survive  a  simpler  system. 
There  is  a  great  necessity  for  modern  terminal  markets  if  the  distribution 
of  food  products  in  the  cities  is  to  be  helped.  What  is  the  use  of  raising 
vast  quantities  of  foodstuffs  if  they  cannot  be  distributed?  Bankruptcy 
confronts  owner  and  consumer  alike  unless  our  distributing  facilities  keep 
pace  with  our  production.  The  farmer,  the  banker,  the  railroad  man, 
are  interested  in  the  first  part  of  the  problem;  namely,  getting  the  food 
to  the  cities.  The  city  man  is  interested  in  bringing  the  food  into  and  dis- 
tributing it  within  the  city. 

The  question  of  city  markets  is  a  vital  one  not  only  to  people  in  the 
cities  but  also  to  the  farmers  of  the  country,  for  all  production  must 
have  an  outlet  or  it  ceases  to  be  profitable,  and  cities  must  be  supplied  with 
food  at  reasonable  prices  or  cease  to  exist.  In  many  cities  today  the  chan- 
nels of  marketing  are  so  badly  clogged  that  they  offer  obstacles  rather  than 
inducements  to  shippers.  On  the  other  hand,  we  hear  constantly  of  good 
food  spoihng  on  the  farms  of  the  country  because  it  does  not  pay  to  market 
it  by  our  cumbersome  and  expensive  methods. 

(120) 


121 

The  railroads  of  the  country  are  confronted  with  a  constant  increase 
in  freight  traffic  for  which  they  have  great  difficulty  in  providing  the  neces- 
sary terminal  facilities.  A  report  of  the  forty-nine  railroads  of  the  north- 
eastern section  of  the  country,  published  in  the  New  York  Times  of  Decem- 
ber 4,  1913,  says  that  between  1903  and  1912  ''railway  traffic,  both  freight 
and  passenger,  increased  much  faster  than  the  faciHties  for  handling 
either.  .  .  .  The  freight  traffic  increased  53  per  cent,  and  the  passen- 
ger traffic,  42  per  cent,  as  compared  with  an  increase  of  17  per  cent  in 
population,"  of  the  section  served  by  these  lines.  In  1903  these  roads 
were  operating  55,706  miles  of  line.  From  1903  to  1912  they  increased 
their  mileage  6|  per  cent  and  their  double  trackage,  15|  per  cent.  Daniel 
Willard,  president  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  in 
commenting  upon  the  situation  said,  "The  immediate  and  all-important 
question  is:  How  shall  these  railroads  obtain  the  new  capital  necessary 
if  they  are  to  provide  the  needed  facilities  and  furnish  the  high-class  service 
which  the  public  interest  demands,  and  to  which  the  public  is  properly 
entitled?"  In  the  distribution  of  food  products  to  the  cities,  in  which 
the  railroads  play  so  large  and  so  increasingly  important  a  part,  it  is  not 
only  a  question  of  the  "service  to  which  the  public  is  entitled,"  but  of 
pressing  public  necessity,  that  there  should  be  in  the  cities  terminal  mar- 
keting facilities  for  the  receipt  and  speedy  distribution  of  foodstuffs. 

The  interest  of  the  city  in  terminal  markets  is  identical  with  that  of 
the  country  and  the  railroads,  the  function  of  a  proper  market  being  two- 
fold— to  distribute  foodstuffs  within  the  city,  and  to  encourage  the  growth 
and  transportation  of  foodstuffs  to  the  city.  Unimpeded  distribution  to 
and  within  the  city  will  cause  greater  consumption  of  food  products  because 
prices  will  be  lower.  It  will  encourage  the  farmer  to  produce  more  because 
he  is  sure  of  a  good  market.  The  unit  price  of  what  he  sends  to  market 
will  be  lower,  but  there  will  be  no  waste  and  the  aggregate  return  for  the 
larger  quantity  grown  will  net  him  a  larger  profit. 

One  of  the  greatest  benefits  of  good  markets  to  the  farmer  will  be 
that  they  will  change  his  occupation  from  the  hazardous  guesswork  it  is 
now  to  a  steady  business  at  moderate  prices  upon  which  he  can  rely. 
It  is  of  no  benefit  to  a  farmer  to  get  a  high  price  for  a  part  of  his  crop  and 
nothing  for  the  rest  of  it.  It  will  pay  him  better  to  sell  it  all  at  a  compara- 
tively low  price.  With  the  hit-or-miss  methods  of  marketing  now  in  vogue, 
a  farmer  must  guess  from  year  to  year  whether  his  product  is  to  find  a 
ready  market  or  whether  there  will  be  a  glut  or  whether  there  will  be  a 
scarcity.  His  business  is  speculative  in  the  extreme.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  the  demand  could  be  estimated  and  supplied  through  adequate  distribut- 
ing facilities,  the  danger  of  gluts  would  be  minimized  greatly. 

Our  recent  studies  of  market  conditions  in  New  York  have  disclosed 
the  fact  that  the  city  draws  its  supplies  from  world-wide  sources:  for 
instance,  potatoes,  from  various  parts  of  this  country,  Scotland,  Ireland 
and  Belgium;    onions,  from  our  own  farms,  Bermuda,  Italy,  Spain  and 


122 

Egypt;  oranges,  lemons,  melons,  cherries,  etc.,  from  California,  Florida 
and  other  states,  the  West  Indies,  and  Mediterranean  ports,  and  so  on. 
And  it  is  more  or  less  the  case  with  every  large  city  of  the  country.  As 
an  example  of  conditions,  Mr.  Frank  Andrews,  of  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  states  that  in  1912  Kansas  City's  lettuce 
supply  was  taken  from  nearby  fields,  from  California,  Florida,  New  York, 
Louisiana,  Colorado,  Texas  and  Arkansas,  and  possibly  other  states. 

The  initiative  that  the  railroads  take  in  widening  the  distribution 
of  crops  is  perhaps  not  generally  appreciated.  They  do  a  useful  work  in 
finding  new  markets  for  producers,  even  going  so  far  as  inducing  merchants 
in  cities  to  import  new  commodities.  An  increase  of  distribution  of  North 
Carolina  strawberries  was  made,  from  400  cars  to  12  markets  in  a  year,  to 
3,200  cars  to  82  markets,  nine  years  later,  due  chiefly  to  the  initiative 
taken  by  a  railroad  in  suggesting  markets  and  helping  to  widen  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  crop.  '  It  is  of  course  to  the  railroad's  interest  to  do  this, 
but  it  is  equally  to  the  interest  of  producer  and  consumer. 

Because  of  the  insignificant  supply  of  foodstuffs  grown  in  the  vicinity 
of  New  York,  that  city  is  perhaps  an  extreme  example  of  a  city  which 
depends  altogether  upon  distant  sources  for  its  food  supplies.  Other 
cities  are  supplied  to  a  greater  degree  by  nearby  products,  but  it  may  be 
stated  as  a  rule  that  all  American  cities  depend  largely  for  their  supplies 
upon  distant  sources.  This  may  be  because  of  location  in  an  unproductive 
area,  or  a  short  season  of  local  production,  but  chiefly  because  all  American 
cities  demand  a  greater  variety  of  food  than  the  local  area  can  produce. 

The  possibility,  which  is  of  comparatively  recent  development,  of 
shipping  highly  perishable  articles  under  refrigeration,  by  fast  freight, 
to  distant  markets,  has  lengthened  the  seasons  when  vegetables  and  fruits 
are  in  market.  The  farm  produce  of  South  Carolina  and  Kansas  can 
reach  New  York  as  easily  today  as  could  that  of  Long  Island  and  West- 
chester County  a  few  years  ago.  There  was  a  time,  as  was  stated  by  a 
witness  before  the  Market  Commission  last  spring,  when  the  season  in 
New  York  for  strawberries  was  only  six  weeks  long.  Now  we  start  in  with 
Florida  strawberries  in  February  and  have  them  until  the  middle  of  July 
from  northern  New  York.  In  July  the  same  cars  after  refrigeration  are 
taking  berries  south  from  northern  producing  states  that  in  May  were 
taking  them  from  North  Carolina  to  those  same  points.  Such  things  as 
string  beans,  tomatoes  and  lettuce  are  in  market  practically  throughout 
the  year. 

With  the  shipping  of  perishable  goods  long  distances  by  rail,  the  car- 
load has  come  to  be  the  recognized  shipping  unit,  because  of  the  ease  of 
handling  unbroken  carloads  with  dispatch,  as  compared  with  less  than 
car-lot  freight.  Mr.  Andrews  has  collected  data  from  42  cities  showing  that 
from  1900  to  1910  there  was  an  increase  of  40  per  cent  in  the  number  of 
car-lot  markets  for  highly  perishable  fruits  and  vegetables.  "Practically 
every  city  in  the  United  States,"  he  says,  "of  25,000  population  or  more. 


123 

and  possibly  many  smaller  ones,  can  consmne  within  a  few  days  a  carload 
of  one  or  more  kinds  of  highly  perishable  fruits  or  vegetables.  According 
to  the  report  of  one  of  the  large  merchant  shippers  of  Jacksonville,  Florida, 
in  1912  car-lot  shipments  of  Florida  produce  were  made  to  210  different 
cities,  located  in  46  states.  This  number  includes  most  all  of  the  cities 
of  this  country  having  a  population  of  at  least  25,000. " 

This  being  so,  it  may  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  the  real  problem  before 
the  country  today  is  not  so  much  the  growing  of  foodstuffs  as  their  economic 
collection,  transportation  and  distribution.  In  some  w^ays  the  develop- 
ment of  good  methods  of  cultivation  has  already  gone  ahead  of  the  develop- 
ment of  good  methods  of  marketing.  From  the  moment  the  goods  are 
placed  on  board  the  cars  or  boat,  the  question  is  one  of  distribution.  In 
most  of  our  cities  the  distribution  of  foodstuffs  is  primarily  a  railroad 
question,  so  that  the  market  best  fitted  for  the  assembling  and  marketing 
of  provisions  in  the  city  is  the  wholesale  railroad  terminal  market,  into 
which  and  out  of  which  run  as  many  railroad  lines  as  possible. 

Such  markets  should  be  large  in  size  so  that  there  will  be  provision 
for  a  considerable  expansion  of  the  present  trade,  and  so  that  as  large  .a 
number  of  buyers  and  sellers  as  possible  may  meet  in  them.  They  should 
be  supplied  with  refrigeration,  so  that  goods  arriving  in  refrigerated  cars 
may  not  suffer  from  exposure  to  harmful  temperatures,  and  so  that  surplus 
may  be  kept  without  deterioration.  They  should  have  ample  unloading 
platforms  and  storage  space,  as  well  as  exhibition  and  selling  space.  In 
each  market  one  or  more  licensed  city  auctioneers  should  be  stationed  to 
dispose  of  goods  consigned  directly  to  the  market. 

The  object  of  any  market  should  be  to  facilitate  distribution  by  bring- 
ing producer  and  consumer  a  step  closer  together,  and  though  the  form  of 
market  may  differ  widely  according  to  the  conditions  in  the  city  it  is  to 
serve,  the  principle  of  the  thing  is  everywhere  the  same:  the  best  type 
of  market  for  any  city  is  the  terminal  market,  adapted  to  the  nature  of 
the  carrier  which  brings  the  food  products,  whether  such  carrier  be  farm 
wagon,  freight  trolley,  railroad  or  boat.  The  market  at  the  terminal  makes 
for  the  elimination  of  waste  in  handling  and  for  a  better  articulation  of  all 
the  processes  of  distribution.  Such  a  market  in  a  city  should  be  in  the 
control  of  a  market  department  or  official,  to  publish  daily  bulletins  of 
the  quantity,  quality  and  prices  of  foodstuffs  in  the  market  and  in  other 
ways  make  the  system  efficient. 

It  must  be  recognized  that  the  best  methods  of  marketing  our  crops 
requires  the  co-operation  of  our  farmers,  shippers,  railroads  and  market 
men.  No  one  of  these  forces,  no  matter  how  well  organized,  is  sufficient 
in  itself  to  effect  the  desired  end.  The  Federal  Government  has  realized 
the  necessity  of  the  co-ordination  of  these  various  forces.  The  last  session 
of  the  Sixty-second  Congress  made  an  appropriation  of  $50,000,  of  which 
$10,000  was  available  immediately,  "to  enable  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture 
to  acquire  and  to  diffuse  among  the  people  of  the  United  States  useful 


124 

information  on  subjects  connected  with  the  marketing  and  distributing 
of  farm  products,  and  for  the  employment  of  persons  and  means  necessary 
in  the  city  of  Washington  and  elsewhere." 

At  a  meeting  held  in  the  Department  of  Agriculture  on  April  29, 1913, 
Mr.  G.  Harold  Powell,  general  manager  of  the  California  Fruit  Growers' 
Exchange,  made  the  following  valuable  suggestions  for  the  work  of  the 
department : 

''(1)  Determine  the  principles  on  which  farmers'  business  organiza- 
tions can  be  successfully  founded  and  operated. 

''(2)  Work  out  the  principles  of  law  which  should  be  incorporated 
in  state  and  federal  legislation  and  which  would  permit  the  proper  organiza- 
tion and  conduct  of  farmers'  associations. 

"(3)  Study  the  distribution  of  farm  crops  as  practiced  by  farmers' 
organizations  and  other  agencies  in  order  to  determine  the  weaknesses,  the 
wastes  in  distribution,  the  abuses  and  extravagances  of  the  distributing 
system,  and  illegal  practices,  if  such  exist,  and  as  a  result  set  forth  the 
principles  of  state  and  federal  legislation  which  would  define  the  functions 
of  the  various  distributing  agencies,  correct  such  abuses  as  legislation  can 
reach,  define  and  set  forth  the  principles  of  co-operative  organizations,  and 
assist  the  farmers  in  the  formation  of  their  organizations. 

"  (4)  Help  the  farmers  after  they  are  organized  to  develop  a  system 
by  which  they  can  secure  for  themselves  better  information  regarding  crop 
conditions,  the  movement  of  crops,  the  supply  in  different  markets,  and  the 
daily  prices,  this  information  to  supplement  the  general  data  which  the 
department  may  furnish  the  public. 

''  (5)  Investigate  the  methods  of  handling,  grading,  packing  and  pre- 
paring farm  crops  for  market,  to  bring  about  a  greater  uniformity  and  to 
correct  the  abuses  which  now  cause  a  large  proportion  of  the  trouble  in 
the  dealings  of  the  producer  with  the  distributing  agencies." 

When  this  is  done  the  work  of  co-ordinating  the  forces  outside  the  cities 
may  be  said  to  be  under  way.  Important  as  this  work  is,  it  must  fail 
unless  the  distributing  facilities  in  the  cities  are  co-ordinated  so  that  they 
may  take  care  of  the  produce  which  the  farmers  send  to  them,  without 
uncertainty,  waste  and  loss. 

Producers'  associations  are  likely  to  be  successful  where  the  country 
in  which  they  operate  produces  a  single  staple  crop,  their  efforts  being  to 
market  their  products  and  to  see  that  they  are  graded  and  packed  properly. 
It  is  somewhat  difficult  for  a  producers'  association  to  flourish  in  a  locality 
where  many  different  sorts  of  crops  are  produced.  It  might  be  well,  there- 
fore, for  studies  to  be  made  in  different  localities  for  the  purpose  of  finding 
out  the  most  profitable  crops  for  the  neighborhoods  and  urging  the  farmers 
to  confine  themselves  to  them.  Co-operative  associations  among  the 
consumers  in  the  cities  have  not  been  very  successful  in  this  country  because 
of  the  individualistic  tendencies  of  the  people,  which  prevent  them  from 
co-operating  easily,  and  the  fact  that  cash  payments  are  displeasing  to 


125 

many  of  our  city  dwellers.  Nor  does  it  appear  necessary  that  there  should 
be  co-operative  buying  in  the  cities  if  proper  facilities  can  be  given  in  the 
primary  wholesale  markets  to  the  retailers  who  do  the  final  distributing. 
The  increased  cost  of  food  is  causing  alarm,  and  there  appears  to  be  no 
likehhood  that  meats  will  decrease  in  price  for  some  years  to  come,  if  ever. 
This  will  necessitate  a  greater  consumption  as  time  goes  on  of  farm  pro- 
duce. The  danger  will  be,  unless  means  are  taken  to  distribute  all  that  is 
raised,  that  there  will  be  over-production  and  consequent  gluts.  The 
Secretary  of  Agriculture  has  suggested  that  the  market  service  in  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  should  include  a  *' marketing  news  service,  the 
work  along  this  line  for  the  time  being  to  consist  mainly  of  an  investigation 
of  the  practical  methods  and  cost  of  conducting  such  a  service,  and  later, 
if  found  feasible,  to  include  the  daily  collection  and  distribution  of  informa- 
tion relating  to  the  supply  and  demand  in  the  leading  markets,  progress  of 
planting  and  area  planted,  and  condition  of  growing  crops."  Such  informa- 
tion cannot  help  but  be  of  the  very  greatest  value  as  it  will  tend  to  curb 
over-production  and  at  the  same  time  point  to  new  channels  of  consump- 
tion. The  farmers  must  aid  the  work  by  skilful  growing  of  crops  and 
through  proper  grading  and  packing  for  the  market.  The  railroads  and 
boat  lines  must  help  by  quick  and  cheap  transportation.  The  cities 
must  help  in  the  first  place  by  the  primary  wholesale  terminal  markets, 
and  in  the  second  place  by  scientific  methods  of  transportation  and  distri- 
bution within  the  city  after  the  goods  have  left  the  primary  wholesale 
markets. 

Mrs.  Smith  :  We  are  anxious  to  have  the  gentlemen  present  take  part 
in  discussion  with  Mr.  Miller.  You  have  before  j^'ou  one  of  the  most 
expert  men  along  this  line  in  the  country,  and  "v^e  would  like  to  have  all 
take  part  who  wish  to. 

Delegate:  Why  can't  we  have  a  larger  distribution  in  a  market 
like  this? 

Mr.  Miller:  I  don't  know  of  any  marketing  city  that  does  not  suffer 
from  lack  of  proper  distribution.  There  should  be  an  opening  up  of  the 
channels  of  trade  and  the  making  of  a  central  marketing  place  whereby 
parties  furnishing  products  could  come,  but  I  do  not  know  of  any  such 
place.  Last  winter  in  one  section,  cabbage  was  selling  for  3  cents  a  head, 
right  on  one  of  the  town's  streets,  and  yet  the  people  in  the  adjoining 
block  didn't  know  it  was  in  the  market.  If  there  was  a  regular  center 
there  where  the  housewife  was  accustomed  to  look  for  any  particular  sup- 
plies this  condition  would  not  exist. 

Delegate  :  Where  information  on  quotations  is  not  available  on  the 
various  market  products,  where  can  we  be  informed? 


126 

Mr.  Miller:  By  our  bureau  service.  He  can  subscribe  to  it  and  get 
what  information  we  have. 

Delegate:  But  maybe  they  won't  subscribe. 

Mr.  Miller:  I  won't  say  they  will,  but  if  the  housewives  were  anxious 
for  that  information  they  would  get  it.  But  the  supply  now  is  too  uncer- 
tain. You  can  never  look  forward  to  getting  certain  supplies  cheap  this 
week  and  cheap  next  week.  There  must  be  a  variation.  We  have  onions 
raised  in  Orange  County,  two  hours  distance  by  passenger  train,  and  it 
takes  a  freight  car  eight  to  fourteen  days  to  get  in  a  lot  of  onions  from 
Orange  County.  A  dealer  told  me  last  year  he  tried  the  experiment  of 
putting  baskets  of  onions  in  retail  stores  at  five  cents  a  basket ;  because 
the  consumer  hadn't  any  idea  they  were  coming  into  the  market  they  did 
not  meet  a  ready  sale.  In  other  words,  their  eyes  were  not  attracted  to  it, 
and  you  must  keep  things  before  the  consumer  constantly  if  you  want  to 
make  them  buy. 

Delegate:  How  are  you  going  to  regulate  that? 

Mr.  Miller:  By  studying  the  supply.  The  housewife  will  do  that 
herself.  As  it  is  now,  we  have  low  prices  this  week,  high  prices  next  week, 
and  she  doesn't  know  what  she  is  going  to  do,  and  even  the  retailer  doesn't 
know  what  he  is  going  to  do. 

Delegate  :  Recently  on  account  of  the  weather  we  have  had  poultry 
go  bad,  probably  one  or  two  birds  in  a  box,  and  the  rest  salable.  How 
would  the  Municipal  Market  handle  that? 

Mr.  Miller:  You  would  have  an  inspector  for  those  who  would 
determine  whether  they  were  fit  for  food  or  not. 

Delegate:  Instead  of  condemning  it  he  would  sort  out  the  bad  and 
sell  what  was  good? 

Mr.  Miller:  Yes. 

Mrs.  Smith:  There  are  so  many  here  who  know  something  about 
this  part  of  the  discussion  we  would  like  to  have  all  of  you  take  part. 

Delegate  :   Why  is  a  carload  lot  necessarily  the  unit? 

Mr.  Miller:  For  the  reason  you  can  get  better  freight  rates  with 
carload  lots  than  a  fractional  lot. 

Delegate  :  What  is  the  difference  in  carload  lots  and  fractional  lots? 

Mr.  Miller  :  It  depends  on  the  distance  and  the  amount  you  carry. 
It  is  different  on  different  railroads. 

Delegate:  That  is  the  key  to  the  whole  situation. 

Mr.  Miller:  I  think  we  will  both  agree  there  is  a  difference  in 
freight  rates. 

Delegate:  Yes,  and  in  numerous  instances  unjustifiable  difference. 


127 

R.  C.  Wright:  If  this  gentleman  will  call  at  Broad  Street  Station  we 
will  discuss  the  matter  with  him. 

Mr.  Miller:  I  think  we  will  agree  there  is  a  difference  in  the  rates. 
I  think  it  is  up  to  you  farmers  to  send  in  carload  lots  wherever  you  can. 
Why  not  get  together  on  it? 

Delegate:  I  think  it  is  better  for  you  to  get  into  your  cities  what 
they  are  trying  to  get  in  the  town  of  Boston  where  you  have  a  freight 
delivery  from  house  to  house. 

Mrs.  Smith:  We  have  some  representatives  here  from  railroads. 
How  about  Mr.  Wright? 

Mr.  Wright:  I  was  just  going  to  ask  this  gentleman  to  talk  on  this 
subject  if  he  will  talk  statistics.  Carload  lots  and  less  than  carload  lots 
are  two  different  phases  of  the  question,  and  you  get  nearer  the  truth 
when  you  take  it  on  that  basis.  I  hand  the  gentleman  my  card  and  hope 
he  will  come  over  to  see  me. 

Delegate:  I  am  not  a  railroad  man  now,  but  was  for  a  number  of 
years.  I  am  connected  with  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  Baltimore. 
Our  friend  who  has  spoken  here  doesn't  look  with  approval  on  the  dif- 
ference between  rates  in  carload  lots  and  less  than  carload  lots.  I  was 
very  sorry  to  hear  at  this  conference  one  word  of  criticism  on  railroads, 
about  the  question  of  freight  rates,  but  it  all  came  merely  through  Mrs. 
Smith  alluding  to  the  fact  that  it  took  a  long  time  to  make  some  rates. 
And  it  does.  The  railroad  traffic  is  a  very  delicately  adjusted  affair,  and 
anything  that  looks  to  the  better  serving  of  its  patrons  and  better  revenue 
would  be  done  tomorrow,  and  adversely,  such  criticism  cannot  but  help 
having  a  most  deleterious  effect  on  the  community,  besides.  Railroads 
have  their  limitations  and  they  must  at  all  times  act  with  care  and  cau- 
tion as  to  what  will  be  for  the  best  interests  of  the  railroads  themselves 
and  the  people  whom  they  serve. 

There  are  unfortunately,  usually  one  or  two  kickers,  and  a  disposi- 
tioji  to  criticise  the  railroads  for  what  they  do,  but  they  have  not  a  clear 
understanding  of  the  hmitations  and  reasons  of  the  railroads.  But  we 
are  now  getting  closer  and  closer  to  the  proper  relation  between  the 
carriers  and  their  freight  patrons,  and  the  producer  and  consumer.  I 
wish  I  had  time  to  give  you  many  specific  illustrations  of  the  many,  many 
improvements  in  service  the  great  railroad  carriers  have  added  towards 
the  communities  they  serve.  They  are  anxious  to  have  them  prosper. 
As  an  iUustration  I  would  ask  you  to  see  the  magnificent  exhibit  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  has,  of  its  efforts  along  this  line  here  in  the  eastern 
cities.  They  have  industrial  agents.  They  are  doing  everything  they 
can  to  build  up  the  country,  and  why  shouldn't  they  if  they  are  to  benefit 
by  it  and  it  is  the  wisest  course  to  follow?  I  know  in  my  long  railroad 
service  criticism  is  bound  to  follow  no  matter  what  you  do.  If  you  do 
a  thing  one  way  you  are  blamed  for  it  and  if  you  do  it  the  other  way  you 


128 

are  also  blamed,  and  I  believe,  in  a  meeting  of  this  kind,  we  should 
approach  this  question  of  transportation  fairly,  honestly  and  unbiassed 
and  impartially,  before  criticism  is  made,  and  I  am  frank  to  say  that  I 
believe  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  out  of  the  one  thousand  instances 
of  complaints  that  are  made,  could  be  satisfactorily  explained  by  the 
railroads. 

Mrs.  Smith:  Mr.  Nathan,  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company, 
is  here  and  will  speak  to  you  for  a  while. 

Mr.  Nathan:  This  is  rather  a  surprising  call,  as  I  was  not  on  the 
programme,  but  I  am  always  glad  to  speak  of  our  efforts  in  behalf  of  the 
milk  question.  I  have  been  very  much  interested  in  the  discussions  at  this 
conference  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  attend,  and  I  want  to  take  the 
liberty  of  saying  I  was  somewhat  disappointed  last  night  in  seeing  the 
subject  of  milk  handled  as  it  was,  and  possibly  there  was  a  great  deal  of  mis- 
information spread  among  those  who  were  present  as  to  the  care  and  effort 
which  milk  dealers,  like  those  with  whom  we  came  in  contact  last  night 
on  the  stereopticon,  are  claimed  do  not  exercise.  Most  milk  dealers  are 
deserving  to  a  degree  and  understand  the  care  and  quality  of  milk.  It  is 
unfortunate  perhaps  that  I  didn^t  say  this  last  night,  although  the  hour 
was  very  late.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the  conditions  existing  as  shown, 
would  be  such  as  they  are,  or  that  they  would  be  permitted  to  conduct  the 
milk  business  in  such  a  way,  and  if  they  still  exist  the  city  authorities  of 
Rochester  ought  to  take  some  method  or  measures  of  overcoming  it.  But 
it  isn't  true.  At  least  we  haven't  found  it  so,  if  those  conditions  were 
stated  to  be  facts  as  being  conditions  typical  in  every  large  city  in  the 
United  States.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  in  the  cities  of  New  York,  Baltimore, 
Philadelphia,  Washington,  and  more  especially  in  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia, as  he  tells  us  there  have  been  spent  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
dollars  in  plants  calculated  to  put  milk  on  the  market  in  the  very  best 
condition.  It  may  be  true,  as  it  no  doubt  is,  that  in  every  city  there  are 
some  imdesirable  milk  dealers,  but  on  the  whole  every  effort  is  being  made 
to  raise  the  standard  and  quality  of  the  product  to  the  greatest  maximum 
possible,  and  the  methods  we  are  perfecting  in  large  cities  for  handling 
milk,  as  well  as  in  the  country,  run  into  the  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
dollars.  Since  the  organization  of  the  Milk  Bureau  there  have  been  plants 
on  lines  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  and  particularly  on  this  entire 
system,  whose  value  exceeds  one-quarter  of  a  million  dollars,  and  would 
before  the  end  of  1914,  or  at  least  when  the  plants  are  finished,  be 
worth  half  a  million  dollars  in  real  estate  and  equipment.  These  enter- 
prises are  spending  these  vast  sums  of  money  in  the  country  to  secure  a 
good  product  and  our  railroad  company  is  spending  a  large  sum  of  money 
daily,  weekly,  monthly  and  throughout  the  entire  year,  in  service  which  is 
calculated  to  place  this  milk  at  points  of  consumption  in  as  good  condition 
as  it  is  possible  to  do  that.  We  have  inaugurated  service  starting  at  the 
city  of  Buffalo  at  7  o'clock  in  the   morning,  picking  up  milk  within  a 


129 

distance  of  twenty-seven  miles  from  Buffalo,  connecting  with  Philadelphia 
and  New  York  and  various  towns  along  the  line  until  it  reaches  to  the 
extent  of  eighteen  cars.  Much  of  that  milk  is  for  Philadelphia  and  New 
York.  We  deliver  our  milk  in  Brooklyn,  through  the  tunnels  under  the 
East  River  and  under  the  North  River  to  Manhattan.  Milk  shipped  8 
o'clock  this  morning  is  in  Brooklyn  at  1  o'clock,  and  on  the  tables  at  7  and  8 
o'clock  the  next  morning.  To  accommodate  this  traffic  we  have  equipped 
ourselves  with  steel  refrigerator  cars,  well  constructed.  Refrigeration  is 
secured  by  the  salt  being  put  into  tanks  at  the  end  of  the  car.  We  can 
demonstrate  to  you  that  the  temperature  is  36-37  degrees  now  existing  in 
those  cars  at  Broad  Street  Station  and  can  be  maintained  at  that  tem- 
perature for  forty-eight  hours  without  re-icing. 

I  might  mention  an  incident  connected  with  this  railroad.  It  has 
been  the  custom  of  all  milk  operators  to  place  their  ice  directly  on  the  cans 
and  bottles.  We  consider  our  system  is  a  great  improvement,  as  in  that 
way  it  does  not  bring  the  ice  in  contact  with  the  milk  in  any  way.  If  you 
ice  it  the  old  way  and  ship  it  in  cases,  these  bottles  are  covered  with  cracked 
ice,  which  brings  it  in  close  contact  with  the  milk,  but  separated  from  the 
milk  by  the  cap  on  the  bottle  only.  But  in  this  particular  refrigeration 
system  we  have,  this  last  method  is  entirely  unnecessary  but  we  have 
considerable  trouble  to  convince  the  dealers  it  is  efficient,  and  one  dealer 
in  New  York  City  has  been  skeptical  of  our  efforts,  until  the  other  day  we 
received  a  letter  to  the  effect  that  their  entire  shipment  from  Williamsport 
arrived  in  Brooklyn  frozen,  and  after  an  interview  we  instructed  oiu-  people 
not  to  use  so  much  salt,  as  the  milk  arriving  in  a  frozen  condition  is  unsal- 
able. It,  however,  convinced  the  people  of  our  system  of  refrigeration, 
and  tljey  had  no  further  complaint. 

I  don't  know  that  I  can  say  anything  further,  except  that  our  activities 
are  well  understood  along  this  line  at  every  point,  and  if  there  is  any  one 
here  who  is  in  the  dairying  business,  we  are  glad  to  confer  with  him  and 
glad  to  see  him  at  this  conference  and  hope  you  will  all  take  advantage  of 
seeing  our  dairy  and  agricultural  cars  in  Broad  Street  Station,  and  on  your 
way  out  of  this  conference  you  can  procure  one  of  our  pamphlets  explaining 
to  you  about  our  agricultural  work. 

Delegate:  What  are  your  rates? 

Mr.  Nathan:  Our  rates  are  standard  rates  established  some  years 
ago  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  and  maintained  by  all  lines 
on  a  parity  with  New  York  and  Philadelphia. 

Mrs.  Smith:  We  will  now  hear  from  Dr.  Pennington.  I  want  to 
say  here,  that  Dr.  Pennington  has  a  remarkable  personality  because  there 
are  few  people  who  are  pleasant  to  everyone,  and  in  Washington  they 
tell  me  she  is  one  of  the  ablest  women  they  have,  and  think  a  great  deal  of 
her.  She  is  not  going  to  speak  on  the  laboratory  or  cold  storage,  but 
railroad  co-operation  this  afternoon,  for  she  is  of  the  impression  we  have 
a  pretty  fine  system  in  this  coimtry  if  we  only  make  use  of  it. 


CO-OPERATION   OF  RAILROAD   TRANSPORTATION   OF 
PERISHABLE   PRODUCTS. 


Dr.  Mary  E.  Pennington, 

Director,  Food  Research  Laboratory,  Bureau  of  Chemistry, 

United  States  Department  of  Agriculture. 


The  day  of  the  farmer's  market  wagon  is  passed.  The  broad  zones 
of  suburban  residences  surrounding  our  cities  preclude  extensive  food 
production  within  feasible  hauling  distance  of  the  market.  Here  and 
there  a  small  gathering  of  wagons  dispense  goods  to  a  limited  section  of 
the  town,  but  as  a  source  of  provender  for  the  city's  population  it  is  of 
but  small  moment.  We  must  depend  upon  steam  or  electricity  to  bring 
the  food  supply  from  the  region  of  production  to  the  region  of  consump- 
tion, and  the  producing  center  for  this  eastern  country  seems  each  year 
to  be  more  remote.  Even  what  we  term  "nearby  produce"  must  come 
by  rail;  therefore,  the  farmer  as  well  as  the  consumer  is  dependent  upon 
the  railroads. 

This  traffic  in  the  transportation  of  perishables  has  grown  with 
startling  rapidity  and  has  far  surpassed  in  volume  and  efficiency  any 
precedents  furnished  by  the  old  world.  Its  very  newness  and  strides 
make  for  unrest,  because  conditions  are  changing  with  such  rapidity  that 
neither  the  shipper,  on  the  one  hand,  nor  the  carrier,  on  the  other,  can 
continue  one  mode  of  business  long  enough  for  the  methods  involved  to 
become  perfected  by  routine  use  and  the  unconscious  absorption  of 
details  by  the  human  part  of  the  machinery  involved.  There  is  a  very 
detrimental  amount  of  ignorance  on  the  part  of  both  shipper  and  carrier 
concerning  their  respective  business.  This  is  partly  because  the  whole 
subject  of  the  handling  of  perishable  products  has  been  neglected  until 
recently,  when  the  pinch  of  high  prices  has  made  us  look  for  wastes  and 
extravagances. 

As  a  part  of  the  investigation  of  the  handling  of  perishables,  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  has  been  studying,  co-opera- 
tively with  the  railroads,  how  foodstuffs  can  be  best  and  most  econom- 
ically transported.  This  is  not  a  problem  that  can  be  worked  out  at  the 
office  desk;  neither  do  experiments  with  small  quantities  and  prepared 
conditions  suffice.  The  goods  must  be  by  car-lots  and  the  observations 
must  cover  hundreds  of  routine  shipments,  month  after  month,  that  the 
influence  of  seasonal  weather  and  seasonal  freight  may  be  taken  into 
account.  Because  refrigeration  plays  so  important  a  role  in  the  preserva- 
tion of  foodstuffs,  a  large  part  of  the  work  of  the  department  has  been  to 

(130) 


131 

determine  the  temperatures  prevailing  in  refrigerator  ears  in  transit  and 
what  temperatures  are  necessary  in  order  to  transport  the  goods  in  prime 
condition.  The  department  could  readily  provide  instruments  which 
would  give  a  record  of  the  temperatures  prevailing  throughout  the  entire 
haul,  be  that  long  or  short;  but  it  was  necessary  to  know  also  the  con- 
struction of  the  cars,  their  insulation,  bunker  system,  icing  methods  and 
a  hundred  and  one  details  that  could  be  obtained  only  with  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  railroads.  This  matter  was,  therefore,  laid  before  railroad 
after  railroad  as  the  work  extended,  and  in  every  case  it  has  met  with 
universal  courtesy  and  a  willingness  to  give  the  help  or  privileges  asked. 

We  have  taken  long  journeys  on  freight  trains  in  company  with  the 
carload  of  the  perishable  product  under  observation.  Every  agent  in 
every  yard  has  been  notified  by  the  railroad  officials  of  our  coming  and 
has  done  all  in  his  power  to  make  the  trip  profitable  and  the  observers 
more  comfortable — not  an  easy  matter,  when  running  through  a  blizzard 
or  on  a  fast  schedule.  We  have  also  been  made  welcome  in  every  freight 
yard,  transfer  station,  dock,  pier  and  terminal,  and  every  facility  in  the 
possession  of  the  carriers  has  been  put  at  our  disposal. 

We  have  in  this  way  gained  an  intimate,  first-hand  knowledge  of  the 
problem  of  transporting  perishables  from  the  railroad  viewpoint;  and 
because  we  have  studied  with  the  shipper  or  producer  every  detail  of  the 
origin  and  preparation  of  the  product  to  be  shipped,  tracing  it  step  by 
step  to  the  consumer,  we  have  absorbed  his  point  of  view  also. 

We  have  found  a  woeful  lack  of  a  mutual  understanding  of  the 
difficulties  confronting  both  parties.  Each  is  ready  instantly  to  disclaim 
responsibility  and  to  place  blame  on  the  opposite  party.  Such  a  condi- 
tion of  affairs  can  only  work  hardship  to  all  concerned.  Litigation  is  a  far 
greater  expense  to  the  nation  than  the  money  actually  spent  indicates, 
because  it  seldom  results  in  fundamental  reforms,  and  many  of  the  condi- 
tions which  the  decision  is  expected  to  remedy  remain  practically  the 
same.  The  fact  that  very  frequently  the  well-being  of  the  railroad  makes 
for  the  success  of  the  shipper,  and  vice  versa,  is  too  often  lost  sight  of. 

Without  in  any  way  trespassing  on  either  the  peace  conunission  or 
the  judiciary,  we  have  had  the  satisfaction  many  times  of  seeing  mooted 
questions  between  railroads  and  shippers  clarified  and  more  efficient  work 
done  as  a  result  of  the  knowledge  gained.  This  principle  has  progressed 
to  such  an  extent  in  the  poultry,  butter  and  egg  industry  that  a  joint 
committee  has  been  appointed  by  the  shippers  and  the  railroads  to  discuss 
transportation  problems  in  their  broadest  sense,  to  acquire  information 
and  to  encourage  more  intelHgent  packing  and  handling,  that  losses  all 
along  the  line  may  be  avoided.  A  representative  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  meets  with  this  committee  in  an  advisory  capacity,  thereby 
keeping  its  work  in  touch  with  the  newest  findings  of  the  department. 
From  time  to  time  the  committee  issues  reports  which  are  published  in 
trade  papers  as  well  as  separately. 


132 

The  work  so  far  has  been  very  largely  on  the  breakage  of  eggs  in 
transit.  The  general  investigation  has  been  undertaken  by  the  depart- 
ment, through  the  Food  Research  Laboratory  of  the  Bureau  of  Chem- 
istry, co-operatively  with  this  committee  and  the  industries  which  it 
represents. 

The  investigation  of  such  a  question  as  the  breakage  of  eggs  in  transit 
would  be  an  impossibility  without  co-operative  work.  No  amount  of 
detective  ability  would  compensate  for  the  free  opening  of  records  and 
frank  statements  of  facts  that  are  ours  for  the  asking.  Of  necessity  we 
receive  many  confidences  that  never  go  beyond  the  laboratory  staff  or 
the  laboratory  files.  Our  success  depends  on  respecting  such  confidences. 
It  is  our  custom  to  take  the  results  of  our  work  back  to  the  shippers  or 
the  railroads  individually,  if  they  are  directly  applicable  to  individuals, 
just  as  promptly  as  they  become  facts.  Later  they  are  available  to  all 
parties  in  a  pubUcation  which  is  strictly  impersonal. 

Whatever  activities  this  committee  may  undertake,  it  will  always 
be  of  great  value  as  a  clearing  house  for  questions  and  a  promoter  of  a 
better  understanding  between  people  who  are  gradually  learning  that, 
when  all  is  said  and  done,  the  greatest  good  is  mutual  good,  the  surest 
progress  is  mutual  progress. 

We  realize  that  anything  which  undertakes  to  bring  about  railroad 
co-operation  is  skating  on  pretty  thin  ice.  Perhaps,  however,  the  ice  is 
fixed  for  Uncle  Sam  because  we  have  no  axes  to  grind  and  therefore  can 
hardly  be  accused  as  a  party  to  that.  This  question  must  be  worked 
out  along  practical  lines,  as  Mr.  Miller  has  ably  laid  out  in  his  statement 
concerning  market  terminals. 

Delegate  :  How  long  does  meat  keep  in  cold  storage? 

Dr.  Pennington:  We  do  know  it  will  keep  at  least, a  year.  How 
much  longer  than  that  we  don't  know. 

Mrs.  Smith:.  A  gentleman  told  Dr.  Pennington  he  always  froze  his 
turkeys  and  kept  them  at  a  temperature  of  three  degrees  below  zero. 
Dr.  Pennington  said,  "Take  them  out  and  keep  them  at  a  temperature 
of  sixteen  above."  I  thought  that  was  a  good  point,  because  the  Belle vue- 
Stratford  and  other  such  well-known  hotels  are  glad  to  have  such  informa- 
tion from  such  good  authority. 

Delegate:  Don't  get  Dr.  Pennington  started  on  the  cold-storage 
question.     She  is  going  to  talk  on  that  subject  later. 

Dr.  Pennington:  I  fully  intended  at  the  time  the  carload  lot  dis- 
cussion was  on,  to  say  something,  but  I  forgot  it.  Not  on  the  subject  of 
rates,  but  on  another  question  quite  as  important.  It  is  of  just  as  much 
importance  to  the  nation  to  get  products  from  the  farmer  to  the  consume!* 
in  good  order — every  single  egg,  every  head  of  cabbage  or  whatever  it  may 


133 

be — as  it  is  to  have  a  rate  which  is  favorable  to  the  shipper  or  consumer 
or  whoever  may  be  interested  in  rates,  because  if  you  do  not  handle  your 
goods  under  proper  conditions  and  deliver  them  to  the  markets  in  good 
order,  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  expense  all  along  the  line  will  be 
increased,  notwithstanding  any  effort  you  make  to  adjust  the  rates.  We 
also  know  from  the  experience  gained  in  our  work  in  the  department  at 
Washington,  that  maximum  efficiency  can  be  better  attained  in  the 
handling  of  products  in  carload  lots.  It  is  even  hard  enough  handling  it 
under  that  method,  and  I  think  every  railroad  man  will  bear  me  out  in 
that  statement,  and  those  who  handle  refrigeration  ^vill  say  so  too.  But 
to  do  it  on  the  odd  lot  basis,  a  few  cases  here  and  a  few  barrels  there, 
one  sort  of  package  here  and  another  there,  with  nothing  fixed,  nothing 
uniform.  How  can  you  do  this  and  bring  your  products  in  to  the  markets 
in  good  order?  We  are  a  higgledy-piggledy  disjointed  nation  in  the  matter 
of  distribution  of  food  supplies.  We  must  learn  to  do  it  better.  I  do  not 
know  in  just  what  direction  we  are  going  to  develop  in  this  matter.  Take 
such  a  period  as  we  have  just  gone  through  in  our  Thanksgiving  market, 
where  our  poultry  came  in  by  tons  unfit  for  use;  and  during  last  summer 
when  in  the  big  poultry-producing  territory  south  of  the  Missouri  and 
along  the  Mississippi  we  had  a  loss,  an  actual  loss,  of  thirty-five  per  cent 
of  the  eggs  that  were  produced,  representing  a  loss  in  money  hard  to 
estimate,  and  which  conservatively  estimated  during  that  period  would 
amount  to  $12,000,000.  That  sort  of  waste  we  must  take  steps  to  stop. 
We  do  believe  that  the  carload-lot  unit  is  a  means  of  stopping  a  great 
deal  of  this  waste.  But  you  cannot  keep  a  car  cool — and  refrigeration  is  a 
prerequisite  in  the  handling  of  a  great  deal  of  our  shipments — ^you  can't 
keep  a  car  cool  if  you  open  the  door  at  every  station  and  put  in  some- 
thing that  is  hot.  You  have  to  start  out  with  your  carload  cool  and  keep 
it  cool.  It  must  be  done  efficiently,  whether  carload  lots  happen  to  agree 
with  our  own  particular  ideas  or  methods  of  doing  business,  is  quite  aside 
from  the  national  question.  The  national  question  comes  first,  for  what- 
ever is  best  for  the  nation  is  best  for  us  too. 

Delegate  :  If  you  can  keep  meat  for  a  year,  as  you  have  said,  how 
long  can  you  keep  milk? 

Dr.  Pennington:  I  never  tried  it.  Do  you  mean  for  a  short  or 
long  period? 

Delegate:  Is  there  any  method  of  keeping  it  until  carload-lot 
quantities  were  had? 

Dr.  Pennington:  There  are  ways  of  doing  that  by  co-operation 
among  the  farmers.  Up  until  now  it  has  only  been  a  possibility,  but  in 
the  future  it  will  be  a  reality.  Then  we  will  ship  such  articles  as  milk 
by  carload  quantities. 

Mrs.  James  (of  the  Civic  Club,  Philadelphia) :  Is  there  any  known 
method  of  taking  care  of  small  shipments?     I  know  a  great  many  farmers 


134 

around  who  are  giving  away  their  surplus  products  because  they  have 
no  way  of  shipping  at  a  distance  twenty  miles  from  the  city.  For 
instance,  if  I  want  to  ship  a  basket  of  apples  for  that  distance  it  becomes 
too  costly.  Isn't  there  some  way  of  handling  that  produce  from  the 
farmer  to  the  consumer  so  that  he  would  receive  a  certain  amount  of 
money  for  that  rather  than  giving  away  their  product? 

Dr.  Pennington:  I  would  consider  going  to  the  neighbors  who  give 
away  their  excess  produce,  have  some  method  of  collecting  the  excess 
material  they  are  giving  away,  then  see  your  railroads  and  try  and  get 
together  and  talk  the  matter  over  and  see  if  you  can  get  those  who  are 
giving  away  their  products  to  handle  it  to  the  advantage  of  all.  For 
my  part,  I  do  not  believe  in  asking  a  railroad  to  haul  a  quart  of  milk  or 
a  basket  of  apples  or  anything  like  that.  They  can  handle  a  carload  of 
apples  with  much  greater  efficiency. 

Mr.  Reynolds:  I  was  going  to  answer  the  gentleman's  question 
regarding  milk.  I  had  some  experience  in  the  milk  business.  A  customer 
complained  about  the  milk  because  I  was  delivering  milk  in  the  morning 
that  was  milked  the  night  before.  I  gave  him  two  bottles  of  milk,  one  a 
week  old  and  one  the  morning's  milk,  and  he  couldn't  tell  me  the  dif- 
ference. He  kept  on  testing  it,  but  he  chose  the  oldest  milk  as  being  the 
fresh  milk.  If  you  will  keep  milk  at  a  temperature  of  forty  degrees,  you 
can  send  it  from  New  York  to  Japan  by  way  of  San  Francisco,  and  that 
has  been  done  to  my  knowledge.  But  there  is  one  thing  I  believe  should 
be  seriously  considered.  I  happen  to  know  some  farmers  who  have  gone 
out  of  business  because  of  this  experience:  They  put  their  milk  on  the 
railroad  at  under  fifty  degrees  and  it  is  landed  in  the  city  at  over  seventy 
degrees;  the  milk  is  inspected,  thrown  out  and  the  shipper  foots  the 
bill  and  the  railroad  doesn't  do  a  thing  as  a  result  of  that  sort  of  method, 
just  as  if  the  milk  was  thrown  in  the  sewer,  and  the  farmer  loses  it.  He 
paid  his  share  also  to  the  railroad  and  he  has  no  come-back. 

Delegate  :  It  seems  conditions  are  changing.  We  need  refrigeration 
now,  but  didn't  need  it  or  didn't  think  of  it  ten  years  ago.  And  we  are 
paying  for  refrigeration  but  don't  get  it.  We  get  an  attempt  at  it,  but 
inasmuch  as  it  is  impossible  to  successfully  keep  the  temperature  down  at 
all  times  of  the  year,  why  should  we  pay  for  it?  We  are  charged  with 
refrigeration  rates,  yet  it  is  impossible  to  get  it,  and  we  shouldn't  be 
charged  refrigeration  rates  if  we  don't  get  the  service.  If  we  got  any 
benefit  out  of  it  or  if  our  milk  was  helped  we  would  pay  it.  Unless  condi- 
tions change  it  means  we  must  go  out  of  business.  In  my  own  territory, 
which  was  formerly  a  milk-producing  territory,  we  must  either  change 
our  occupation  or  do  something  else. 

Dr.  Pennington:  The  railroads  are  undoubtedly  trying  to  handle 
your  product  in  such  a  way  as  will  procure  not  only  for  you  but  for  them- 


135 

selves  the  maximum  efficiency,  and  they  are  no  doubt  endeavoring  to  give 
you  the  best  service. 

Delegate:  We  have  been  charged  refrigerator  car  rates  for  six 
months  and  there  hasn't  been  any  ice  in  them,  and  we  pay  the  same 
charge  as  when  there  were  no  refrigerator  cars. 

Dr.  Pennington:  You  are  so  close  to  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  I  believe  you  will  have  to  go  to  them  about  that.  All  our 
shipping  questions  have  their  problems.  They  are  hard  knots  to  unravel 
and  the  railroads  as  well  have  their  tangles.  These  are  knotty  knots 
and  which  side  of  the  fence  are  we  going  to  be  on?  Maybe  we  are  all 
wrong  in  this  matter,  but  let  us  do  the  very  best  we  can.  We  honestly 
think  this  work  we  are  doing  in  the  matter  of  investigation  should  be 
carried  out  along  this  line  as  to  methods  of  doing  it,  then  take  that 
information  to  work  out  a  system  for  production  and  distribution,  to 
give  the  very  best  thought  on  the  subject  that  we  are  able  to  give.  That 
is  what  the  Agricultural  Department  must  do  now  to  help  us  in  this 
food  problem.  What  to  do  with  that  information  is  right  up  to  you. 
We  are  doing  the  very  best  we  can  and  the  very  best  we  know  how,  to  get 
the  best  results. 

Mr.  Yearsley:  We  have  it  on  the  authority  of  H.  B.  FuUerton, 
also  on  the  authority  of  Professor  King  of  the  University,  that  there  exists 
a  systematic  destruction  in  throwing  away  produce,  on  the  railroads  on 
the  way  to  the  big  cities. .  I  would  like  to  know  to  what  extent  that  has 
been  and  what  the  government  has  done  towards  investigating  it. 

Dr.  Pennington:  So  far  as  the  work  comes  under  our  supervision 
and  so  far  as  we  are  concerned,  we  have  never  made  any  nor  do  we  make 
any  investigations.     I  don't  know  anything  for  or  against  that  question. 

Delegate:  Assuming  a  poultryman  in  Texas  wishes  to  provide  for 
his  shipment  to  the  eastern  states,  would  that  probably  be  by  co-opera- 
tion with  the  railroads? 

Dr.  Pennington:  Do  you  mean  what  we  are  doing  with  regard  to  a 
shipper  in  Texas? 

Delegate:  Yes. 

Dr.  Pennington:  We  have  gone  down  into  the  storage  districts. 
Sometimes  we  have  put  our  inspectors  into  packing  houses  to  work  with 
the  packer  to  show  him  how  to  kill  his  poultry,  to  load  his  car  and  get 
his  stuff  out.  We  have  a  department  connected  with  that  where  practical 
men  who  are  looking  after  this  phase  of  the  work  are  engaged  in  the  pro- 
ducing sections  all  the  time.  Just  now  this  "field  station"  is  down  in 
Missouri.  It  has  been  in  Kansas,  Iowa  and  Tennessee,  going  from  one 
packing  house  to  another,  answering  questions  and  demonstrating  the 


136 

work,  how  it  should  be  done.  When  the  car  is  loaded  and  registered,  a 
thermometer  is  put  aboard  and  the  car  is  shipped  through  and  met  by  one 
of  our  own  men  at  its  destination,  wherever  that  may  be.  When  the  car 
is  opened  we  look  at  the  goods  tested  under  very  definite  conditions  at  the 
shipping  point,  and  we  take  the  report  of  the  thermometer. 

When  we  look  back  four  or  five  years  at  the  general  methods  of 
handling  our  products  and  compare  them  with  the  general  methods  we 
have  today,  there  is  a  general  big  improvement.  The  National  Poultry 
Association  in  1909  had  a  meeting  of  about  ninety  members  where  much 
interest  was  shown.  At  their  meeting  last  year  there  were  three  thousand 
members  at  that  meeting  and  they  are  working  for  good  ends.  This  kind 
of  interest  is  being  shown  all  over  the  country.  It  means  we  have  to 
handle  our  products  better  all  along  the  line,  and  the  department,  both 
state  and  federal,  has  to  send  its  men  out  into  the  highways  and  byways, 
out  among  practical  men  and  take  the  scientific  work  they  acquire  in  the 
laboratories  and  experimental  stations  to  the  people  who  are  actually 
using  them.     That  is  what  we  are  trying  to  do. 

Mr.  Kates:  What  did  the  gentleman  understand  who  spoke  a  while 
ago  as  to  Dr.  King's  article? 

Mr.  Yearsley:  I  have  in  my  desk  a  written  report  that  Professor 
King  wrote  on  markets  of  Philadelphia,  in  which  there  is  the  statement 
that  there  is  a  systematic  throwing  away  of  produce  in  the  city,  in  order 
to  maintain  prices. 

Mr.  Kates:  The  sense  of  that,  I  believe,  is  that  the  railroads  throw 
away  those  consignments  only  under  instructions  from  the  shipper  and  is 
not  a  destructive  interest  on  the  part  of  the  railroads. 

Mr.  Yearsley:  I  didn't  say  a  word  against  the  railroads. 

Delegate:  I  would  like  to  ask  if  you  can  reahze  how  hard  it  is  to 
get  together  with  the  railroad  company.  We  farmers  in  South  Jersey 
have  been  shipping  goods  to  Philadelphia  and  New  York  markets  that 
take  two  hours  to  reach.  These  goods  are  ready  between  three  and  five 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  have  to  be  here  by  one  or  two  o'clock  the 
next  morning.  Frequently  these  goods  don't  get  into  market  until 
between  five  and  six  o'clock  the  next  morning.  Of  course  the  market  is 
over  then  and  each  individual  farmer  may  lose  from  $10  to  $50  on  his 
shipment.  We  take  that  up  with  the  railroad  company  and  all  the  satis- 
faction we  get  is  that  the  shipment  was  delayed.  And  you  have  no 
redress.  They  say  they  can't  get  it  in  there.  We  farmers  try  to  get 
with  them,  but  we  get  no  satisfaction  out  of  them.  They  say,  "If  you 
can't  get  them  there  by  freight,  ship  them  by  express." 

Mrs.  Smith:  We  know  that  is  the  crjdng  evil.  We  would  like  to 
hear  from  Mr.  Home. 


COLD  STORAGE. 


Frank  A.  Horne,  Esquire, 
President,  Merchants'  Refrigerating  Company,  New  York  City. 


Before  beginning  a  discussion  of  the  topic  assigned  to  me,  I  desire  to 
succinctly  state  a  few  facts  concerning  the  present  agitation  touching  the 
relation  of  the  refrigerating  warehousemen  to  the  price  of  eggs  and  other 
commodities. 

First:  There  is  no  cold  storage  trust  or  combination  of  any  kind. 

Second:  The  public  cold  storage  warehousemen  do  not  own  the 
goods  stored. 

Third:  These  products  are  owned  by  a  large  number  of  competing 
dealers  all  over  the  country. 

Fourth:  Market  reports  show  a  big  decrease  in  the  receipt  of  eggs 
in  all  the  leading  cities  and  an  increase  in  the  trade  demand  and  output. 

Fifth:  On  November  1,  1913,  there  was  a  shortage  of  664,016  cases 
of  eggs  (thirty  dozen  each)  in  forty-five  of  the  leading  public  cold  storage 
warehouses  in  the  country. 

Sixth:  During  October  this  year  there  was  a  reduction  of  635,792 
cases  of  eggs  in  the  holdings  of  these  forty-five  houses  representing  eggs 
going  into  consumption. 

Seventh:  These  eggs  are  now  being  withdrawn  in  large  quantities, 
regardless  of  boycotts  and  newspaper  agitation,  to  meet  the  demand. 

Eighth:  The  stocks  remaining  in  the  warehouses  are  insufficient  to 
meet  the  prospective  demands  of  the  market  on  the  basis  of  last  year's 
output  until  the  new  crop  arrives  next  March. 

The  subject  that  I  am  asked  to  present  to  you  today  is  a  topic  very 
greatly  misunderstood  and  concerning  which  many  erroneous  impressions 
have  been  formed  in  the  popular  mind,  largely  because  of  the  position 
taken  by  a  part  of  the  press  in  the  discussion  of  the  high  cost  of  living. 
It  is  unfortunate  that  sensational  and  unreasonable  allegations  and 
attacks  are  freely  published  in  an  agitation  of  this  kind,  while  sober  facts 
and  true  statements  offered  in  contravention  are  generally  neither  desired 
nor  welcomed. 

During  the  year  1910,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  range  of  prices 
of  nearly  all  articles  entering  into  human  consumption  had  been  advanc- 

(137) 


138 

ing,  there  began  an  agitation  blaming  cold  storage  for  high  prices.  It 
was  asserted  that  cold  storage  facilities  were  used  to  artificially  control 
markets  and  increase  prices;  that  foods  were  carried  for  long  periods  of 
time  and  that  the  process  was  detrimental  to  the  public  health.  There- 
upon there  were  held  a  series  of  investigations  and  hearings  to  determine 
the  facts,  such  as  the  Massachusetts  Commission  to  Investigate  the  Sub- 
ject of  the  Cold  Storage  of  Food,  the  Hearings  before  the  Committee  on 
Manufactures  of  the  United  States  Senate,  the  investigations  of  the 
Food  Research  Laboratory,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  the  study 
of  Cold  Storage  Business  Features  and  Prices  by  the  Bureau  of  Statistics, 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  report  of  the  Chicago  Chamber 
of  Commerce  on  the  subject.  Without  exception,  all  these  investigations 
pronounced  in  favor  of  cold  storage  as  a  valuable  modem  public  utility 
in  performing  the  function  of  conserving  our  perishable  foods,  preventing 
deterioration  and  waste  and  affording  a  highly  developed  method  by 
which  the  great  surplus  products  of  the  flush  season  could  be  wholesomely 
preserved  for  consumption  out  of  season,  during  nature's  scant  period  of 
production. 

For  a  time  the  attitude  of  the  press  was  much  more  favorable  and 
the  laws  passed  by  quite  a  number  of  states  were  fair  and  reasonable  in 
regulating  the  business,  with  the  exception  of  the  law  passed  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, which  is  extremely  drastic,  and  the  New  York  law,  which  is  burden- 
some in  some  of  its  features. 

At  the  time  of  the  meeting  of  the  Third  International  Congress  of 
Refrigeration  in  this  country  at  Chicago,  as  recently  as  last  September,' 
the  newspapers  and  magazines,  quite  generally,  paid  tribute  to  the  science 
of  refrigeration  in  all  its  modern  apphcations.  But  how  fickle  is  public 
opinion  as  reflected  in  the  daily  press,  and  how  quickly  the  passing  cur- 
rents of  discussion  sweep  us  from  our  bearings  and  conclusions. 

Now  that  Mrs.  Hen  has  curtailed  her  activity  and  Mr.  Man  has 
increased  his  demand  for  her  product,  these  economists  of  a  day  settle 
it  all  in  a  single  editorial,  the  politicians  attempt  to  solve  the  problem  in 
his  legislative  panacea,  and  the  cold-storage  man  is  the  ''goat"  of  the 
situation. 

The  cold  storage  industry  is  between  the  "upper  and  nether  mill- 
stone" in  the  politics  of  the  agitation.  The  Republicans  said  it  was  cold 
storage  and  not  the  high  tariff  that  did  it,  and  now  the  Democrats  claim 
it  is  cold  storage  in  spite  of  the  low  tariff  that  makes  our  Hving  high. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  facts  in  the  case  as  established  by  market 
statistics,  government  investigation  and  the  testimony  of  experts,  and 
attempt  to  correct  popular  misconceptions  by  getting  at  the  demon- 
strated truth  of  the  matter. 

The  extent  of  the  facilities  for  the  conservation  of  foods  by  refrigera- 
tion is  indicated  by  the  following  figures  from  the  Ice  and  Refrigeration 
Blue  Book:  In  1911  there  were  860  public  cold  storage  warehouses  having 


139 

about  169,541,000  cubic  feet  of  storage  space  and  representing  an  invest- 
ment of  about  $75,000,000.  It  is  estimated  that  the  value  of  goods  stored 
in  one  year  ranges  from  $500,000,000  to  $700,000,000.  It  is,  however, 
calculated  that  not  over  from  five  per  cent  to  ten  per  cent  of  the  annual 
production  of  such  foods  as  eggs,  butter,  poultry  and  meats  are  placed  in 
cold  storage  for  periods  of  over  thirty  days.  This  corrects  the  popular 
notion  as  to  the  quantity  of  products  held  in  cold  storage,  but  another 
error  is  in  reference  to  the  length  of  the  period  of  storage.  The  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture,  Bureau  of  Statistics,  made  an  exhaustive 
study  of  this  subject,  based  upon  reports  from  the  warehouses  of  the 
country  for  the  years  1909-1910.  In  stating  the  proportion  of  foods 
remaining  in  storage  for  ten  months,  the  report  (Bulletin  No.  93,  page  30) 
says:  "Let  the  percentages  for  the  deliveries  of  ten  months  be  stated. 
These  are  represented  by  99.9  per  cent  for  fresh  pork,  98.9  per  cent  for 
dressed  poultry,  97.8  per  cent  for  butter  and  99.9  per  cent  for  eggs. 
The  important  observation  to  be  made  is  that  the  receipts  into  cold 
storage  are  entirely  or  very  nearly  exhausted  by  the  deliveries  within 
ten  months.''  The  same  report  gives  the  average  length  of  storage  as 
follows:  Fresh  beef,  2.28  months;  fresh  mutton,  4.45  months;  butter, 
4.43  months;  poultry,  2.42  months;  eggs,  5.91  months.  This  is  the 
answer  -to  the  exaggerated  stories  of  the  long  holding  of  these  products. 
We  come  now  to  a  consideration  of  the  effect  of  cold  storage  on  prices, 
especially  of  eggs,  which  is  the  essence  of  the  present  controversy.  Let 
me  introduce  here  in  chart  form  a  statistical  review  of  the  New  York 
egg  market  from  March,  1912,  to  November,  1913,  together  with  a  sum- 
mary and  comparison  of  the  figures.  This  review  was  prepared  by  Mr. 
F.  G.  Urner  of  the  New  York  Produce  Review.     (See  next  page.) 


140 


Statistical  Review  of  New  York  Egg  Market,  March,  1912,  to  October,  1913, 
Showing  Receipts,  Movement  to  and  from  Storage  and  Range  of  Prices. 


Month. 


1912 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 

October 

November 

December 

1913 

January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 

October 

November  1  to  15 


Receipts, 

Cases, 


459,859 
742,893 
923,261 
561,402 
435,169 
367,494 
309,384 
256,697 
158,634 
157,406 

194,642 
257,679 
447,250 
679,102 
742,862 
571,774 
455,366 
342,536 
332,170 
288,851 
107,078 


Stock  in 
Storage, 
First  of 
Each 
Month. 


None 

Negligible 

307,000 

906,000 

1,083,000 

1,154,000 

1,134,000 

1,086,000 

914,500 

662,000 

350,000 
132,000 
15,000 
Negligible 
225,500 
593,000 
818,000 
872,000 
819,000 
686,000 
537,500 


Calculated 
Net  Input  to         Total 
Storage  (+)        Output 

and  from 

Output  (— )     Wholesale 
Market. 


Negligible 
+307,000 
+599,000 
+  177,000 
+  71,000 

-  20,000 

-  48,000 
-171,500 
-252,500 
-312,000 

-218,000 
-117,000 

-  15,000 
+225,500 
+367,500 
+225,000 
+  54,000 

-  53,000 
-133,000 
-148,500 
-109,500 


450,000 
416,000 
349,000 
384,000 
364,000 
387,000 
357,000 
428,000 
421,000 
469,000 

423,000 
383,000 
440,000 
454,000 
365,000 
347,000 
401,000 
396,000 
450,000 
437,000 
217,000 


Range  of  Prices  for 
the  Better  Grades, 


Fresh 
Western. 


21  @27 

19  @22i 
17A@22 
18  @21 
18|@22 
18|@24 

22  @30 
24^@34 

26  @38 
25  @38 

i  23  @30 
j  19i@26i 

18  @23 
I  18|@21 
i  18  @22 
I  18  @22 

18  @23| 

20  @27 
24  @32 

27  @35 
i  31  @44 


Refrigerator. 


None 


22i@23^ 
22|@24i 
22i@24i 
21  @24 
18  @23 

18^@21 
15^@21 
15  @17| 


23  m^ 


24  @27 

25  @28i 
271  @30 


Summary. 

Cases. 

Receipts,  March  1  to  October  31,  1912 4,056,159 

Receipts,  March  1  to  October  31,  1913 3,859,911 

Decrease  for  above  period .' 196,248 

Average  monthly  trade  output,  March  to  October,  1912 391,850 

Average  monthly  trade  output,  March  to  October,  1913 411,250 

Deficiency  in  greatest  storage  accumulations,  August  1,   1913,   compared 

with  1912 282,000 

Deficiency  in  storage  accumulations,  November  1,  1913,  compared  with  1912     377,000 

As  bearing  upon  the  reasonableness  of  present  holding  prices  for  storage  eggs 
particular  consideration  should  be  given  to  the  following: 

Prospective  needs,  November  1  to  January  31,  based  upon  average  Cases. 

output  since  March  1 1,233,750 

Storage  reserve  November  1 537,500 

Receipts  November  1,  1912,  to  January  31,  1913 511,000 

1,048,500 

Prospective  deficiency 185,250 


141 

This  table  demonstrates  the  entire  theory  of  cold  storage  and  ita 
economic  aspects.  It  shows  the  heavy  receipts  in  the  market  during  the 
spring  months,  for  example,  923,261  cases  in  May,  1912,  and  742,862 
cases  in  May,  1913.  Likewise  it  shows  the  light  receipts  in  the  market 
during  the  fall  and  winter  months,  for  example,  157,406  cases  in  Decem- 
ber, 1912.  At  the  same  time  it  exhibits  how  the  surplus  receipts  of  the 
spring  enter  storage;  for  example,  the  storage  input  of  599,000  cases  in 
May,  1912,  and  367,500  cases  in  May,  1913.  The  fact  that  the  move- 
ment into  and  out  of  cold  storage  is  regular,  seasonable  and  in  exact  refer- 
ence to  the  receipts  in  the  market,  is  clearly  shown,  indicating  an  obedience 
to  the  law  of  supply  and  demand  and  disproving  any  assimiption  of  con- 
trol or  corner.  A  study  of  the  prices  shows  the  heavy  losses  of  a  year 
ago  and  the  natural  profits  of  this  year  because  of  the  shortage. 

The  summary  and  comparison  is  illuminative,  disclosing  a  decrease 
in  receipts  in  the  market  of  196,248  cases,  an  increase  in  the  trade  out- 
put of  155,000  cases  and  a  deficiency  of  377,000  cases  in  the  storage  hold- 
ings on  November  1st,  compared  with  last  year.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered that  the  reserve  stocks  have  to  serve  the  market  until  next  spring, 
and  that  under  the  same  receipts  as  last  year,  we  face  a  prospective  short- 
age of  185,250  cases  to  carry  us  through,  unless  by  reason  of  price  or 
decreased  demand  the  average  is  changed.  New  York  is  an  absolutely 
open  market  and  is  typical  of  the  whole  country.  The  New  York  Pro- 
duce Review  says,  in  commenting  on  these  figures,  "The  unfortunate 
difficulty  is  that  the  facts  of  the  case  are  so  plain  and  so  simple  that  they 
can  hardly  be  believed  by  agitators  and  others  who  are  saturated  with 
the  conviction  of  monopoly,  combinations,  price  control  or  other  under- 
handed and  mysterious  manipulations.'' 

The  Massachusetts  Comimission  on  Cold  Storage  has  this  to  say  on 
the  effect  of  cold  storage  on  prices  and  increased  production: 

^'The  per  capita  receipts  of  the  chief  food  products  subject  to  cold 
storage  handling,  namely,  eggs,  butter  and  poultry,  increased  greatly  in 
Boston  and  New  York  markets  during  the  decade  1901-10  as  compared 
with  the  decade  1881-90,  prior  to  the  general  adoption  of  cold  storage 
methods.  This  fact  appears  to  indicate  that  cold  storage  has  contributed 
to  increase  the  volume  of  production.  .  .  .  The  average  prices  of 
butter  and  poultry  were  lower  in  the  second  decade  than  in  the  first,  the 
average  price  of  eggs  was  sHghtly  higher,  but  this  fact  is  explained  by 
peculiar  conditions  affecting  the  egg  market." 

Mr.  F.  G.  Urner  in  testifying  before  the  U.  S.  Senate  Committee 
on  Manufactures  stated:  "The  per  capita  consumption  of  eggs  at  New 
York  has  increased  largely  since  ample  cold  storage  facilities  became 
avaflable."  Again  he  says:  "The  average  price  of  fresh  gathered  and 
storage  eggs  taken  together  were  lower  during  the  season  of  scarcity  since 
cold  storage  has  been  available  than  were  the  prices  for  fresh  gathered 
eggs  before  cold  storage  was   available,  notwithstanding  a  well-known 


142 

advance  in  the  prices  of  nearly  all  commodities."  (Chart  exhibited  con- 
taining comparisons  and  conclusions  as  above  from  Mr.  Urner's 
figures.) 

Mr.  George  K.  Holmes,  Chief  of  Division  of  Production  and  Distri- 
bution, Bureau  of  Statistics,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  thus  con- 
cludes Bulletin  No.  93,  issued  April  5,  1913,  on  Cold  Storage  Business 
Features:  ''The  reader  must  be  aware  that  this  investigation  has  nega- 
tived some  popular  misconceptions  with  regard  to  the  cold  storage  busi- 
ness and  has  substantially  sustained  some  of  the  assertions  made  by  cold 
storage  warehousemen."  The  same  authority  in  Bulletin  No.  101,  issued 
April  5,  1913,  says:  "The  cold  storage  situation,  as  it  has  presented  itself 
to  some  writers,  has  been  assumed  to  be  one  in  which  the  cold  storage 
interests  have  combined  to  raise  the  price  of  commodities.  Evidence 
would  need  to  be  presented  to  sustain  this  contention  and  to  indicate 
the  feasibility  of  the  combination  of  an  immense  number  of  wholesale 
dealers  in  all  parts  of  the  country  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  prices 
through  the  use  of  cold  storage  warehouses.  Perhaps  it  is  not  generally 
known  that  the  owners  of  the  cold  storage  warehouses  do  not  store  com- 
modities for  themselves,  but,  on  the  contrary,  let  cubic  space  in  their 
warehouses  to  customers,  who  place  therein  such  perishable  and  other 
commodities  as  they  please."  Again  this  report  states:  "It  is  by  no 
means  to  be  admitted  that  the  cold  storage  business  is  responsible  if  the 
prices  of  its  commodities  have  increased  or  if  the  price  levels  of  its  com- 
modities have  increased.  Let  the  fact  be  what  it  will  with  regard  to  the 
effect  of  cold  storage  on  prices,  the  fact  remains  that  cold  storage  has  been 
of  incalculable  benefit  to  consumers  in  providing  commodities  for  con- 
sumption out  of  the  natural  productive  season."  (Charts  exhibited  from 
Bureau  of  Statistics.) 

As  to  the  new  inquiry  now  suggested  by  the  Attorney  General  regard- 
ing conspiracy  in  restraint  of  trade,  or  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
as  to  the  economic  effects  of  cold  storage,  we  are  willing  to  submit  our 
facts,  knowing  these  departments  of  the  government  will  come  to  the 
same  conclusion  as  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  if  the  investigation 
be  honest  and  thorough. 

With  respect  to  the  alleged  injurious  effect  of  cold  storage  on  health, 
there  is  an  abundance  of  scientific  testimony  to  the  contrary.  This  phase 
of  the  subject  has  not  been  attacked  in  the  present  agitation  as  it  was 
several  years  ago.  The  Massachusetts  Commission  declared  itself  on 
this  side  of  the  question  as  follows:  "Instead  of  being  a  menace  to  the 
public  health,  cold  storage  has,  in  the  main,  exhibited  itself  as  a  great 
agency  for  the  conservation  of  the  vital  resources  of  the  population.  It 
has  enlarged,  diversified  and  enriched  the  food  supply  of  the  people. 
Without  cold  storage  the  crowded  masses  in  the  urban  centers  would  be 
obliged  to  subsist  on  a  dietary  at  once  more  meagre  and  more  costly  than 
that  enjoyed  at  the  present  time." 


143 

Dr.  M.  E.  Pennington,  Chief  of  Food  Research  Laboratory,  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture,  testified  before  the  U.  S.  Senate  Committee 
in  reference  to  poultry  as  follows:  "There  would  probably  be  a  greater 
change  in  twenty-four  hours  if  the  temperature  was  from  65°  to  75° 
Fahrenheit,  than  if  the  temperature  was  10°  Fahrenheit  for  twelve  months." 
Dr.  Pennington  also  makes  this  statement  in  one  of  the  government 
bulletins :  "  It  is  a  comparatively  simple  matter  to  keep  birds  in  good  con- 
dition from  one  season  of  production  to  the  next,  in  a  well-constructed 
cold  storage  warehouse,  provided  those  birds  are  received  at  the  ware- 
house properly  dressed,  chilled  and  packed,  and  with  such  promptness 
that  decomposition  has  not  obtained  even  a  slight  foothold." 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  pertinent  to  the  topic  to  briefly  consider 
cold  storage  legislated,  adopted  and  proposed.  Eleven  states  have 
passed  laws  regulating  the  cold  storage  business,  and  while  many  of  the 
provisions  of  these  laws  are  unnecessary  and  non-effective,  for  the  most 
part  they  are  reasonable  and  workable.  As  the  time  limit  is  apt  to  be 
the  most  oppressive  and  restrictive  form  of  regulation,  it  is  of  interest  to 
note  the  provisions  in  this  respect  in  the  different  acts.  Twelve  months 
limit,  with  privilege  of  extension,  is  provided  in  the  laws  of  Cahfornia, 
Iowa,  Louisiana,  Massachusetts,  Nebraska  and  North  Dakota.  Ten 
months,  with  power  of  extension,  is  the  rule  in  Jersey.  Ten  and  twelve 
months,  without  extension,  is  the  law  in  New  York.  Nine  months 
storage  is  permitted  in  Indiana.  Delaware  requires  a  limit  of  six  months, 
which  may  be  extended  to  eight  months,  and  Pennsylvania  has  a  law 
which  is  the  most  drastic  as  to  time  limits  yet  adopted.  It  provides  that 
no  foods  can  be  offered  for  sale  which  have  been  stored  beyond  the  time 
mentioned,  which  runs  from  four  months  on  beef  to  ten  months  on 
undrawn  dressed  fowl  and  there  is  no  provision  for  extension.  It  is  past 
finding  out  how  such  periods  were  selected,  when  twelve  months  is  the 
only  logical  and  natural  limit  if  one  is  to  be  imposed,  so  that  products 
can  be  carried  from  season  to  season,  and  then  providing  for  extension  of 
time,  if  proper  and  necessary.  The  next  step  should  look  to  uniformity 
in  this  type  of  legislation,  and  it  is  a  good  sign  that  the  Association  of 
State  and  National  Food  and  Dairy  Departments  has  prepared  a  model, 
uniform  bill,  which,  while  not  all  that  could  be  desired,  is  a  step  in  the 
right  direction  and  a  number  of  states  have  adopted  this  bill.  It  is 
reported  that  the  Commissioners  of  Uniform  State  Laws  are  also  working 
on  a  measure  which  promises  to  be  reasonable  and  fair. 

After  this  discussion,  it  is  needless  to  say  that  the  bill  proposed  in 
Congress  by  Representative  McKellar,  providing  for  a  time  limit  of 
ninety  days,  is  perfectly  absurd  and  impossible.  It  would  destroy  the 
entire  cold  storage  industry  and  take  from  the  people  this  modern  and 
efficient  agency  of  food  conservation  and  distribution. 

Mrs.  Smith:  We  would  hke  to  have  some  discussion  on  this  subject 
of  cold  storage. 


144 

Delegate:  Is  there  not  some  danger  in  a  time  limit  of  twelve 
months? 

Mr.  Horne  :  The  producer  storing  these  products  will  take  them  out 
when  he  has  the  call  for  them.  He  will  not  take  them  out  when  he  is  to 
compete  with  the  fresh  product.     That  is  not  done  at  all. 

Delegate:  For  example,  if  the  time  limit  was  twelve  months, 
wouldn't  he  be  compelled  to  do  that? 

Mr.  Horne:  As  a  matter  of  fact  he  is  not  asked  to  do  that.  It  is 
unnecessary. 

Delegate  :  I  think  the  time  limit  in  the  law  construed  to  mean  that 
anything  is  unfit  for  food  after  it  has  passed  the  time  limit,  is  vicious  and 
unreasonable  in  every  particular,  and  should  be  repealed. 

Delegate:  Don't  it  make  any  difference  what  time  the  goods  are 
put  in?  Are  not  goods  put  in  in  May  better  at  the  end  of  nine  months 
than  when  put  in  at  the  end  of  July  or  August? 

Mr.  Horne:  An  April  egg  I  should  say  ten  or  eleven  months  in 
storage,  would  be  better  than  an  egg  stored  in  July  or  August.  I  should 
say  that  eggs  shouldn't  be  kept  so  long. 

Delegate  :  Why  wouldn't  a  ninety-day  bill  reduce  the  cost  of  these 
prices?     I  would  like  to  know  why  it  wouldn't. 

Mr.  Horne:  The  product  would  be  in  excess  at  a  time  when  there 
was  not  the  demand  for  them.  The  farmers  would  go  out  of  that  line 
of  business.  There  would  be  a  dearth  when  wanted,  and  an  increase  in 
prices  for  a  long  time.  It  would  be  perfectly  illegal,  and  as  a  matter  of 
fact  wouldn't  be  feasible,  couldn't  be  done. 

Delegate  :  Do  you  mean  the  farmers  would  stop  raising  the  product? 

Mr.  Horne  :  Yes. 

Delegate:  You  spoke  of  seasonal  storage.  If  you  put' in  April  eggs, 
the  prices  are  the  same  to  remain  there  to  January?  But  if  you  take  out 
the  April  eggs  and  put  in  others  in  August  you  got  two  seasons'  storage 
to  pay. 

Mr.  Horne:  Eggs  stored  in  August  would  command  a  monthly  rate. 

Delegate  :  When  does  that  rate  cease  or  begin? 

Mr.  Horne:  That  is  purely  a  matter  of  private  contract  between 
the  cold-storage  man  and  the  dealer.  A  large  amount  of  storage  is  done 
in  the  spring.     Summer  storage  is  another  matter. 

Mr.  Brown:  In  regard  to  the  statistics  about  material  bemg 
marketed,  substantially  all  of  it  within  ten  months,  what  was  the  starting 
month? 

Mr.  Horne:  Those  figures  begin  with  the  egg  year  in  the  case  ol 
eggs.  These  figures  were  reported  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 
That  is,  I  assume,  where  we  got  those  figures. 


145 

Mr.  Brown:  Wouldn't  it  make  a  difference  what  month  it  began 
with? 

Mr.  Horne:  Certainly  it  would.  It  would  have  to  begin  when  it 
went  in. 

Mr.  Brown:  I  notice  you  mentioned  one  thing  which  I  think  was 
important,  that  the  storage  man  was  an  ill-used  man,  that  he  doesn't 
buy  the  stuff  himself  from  storage.  I  think  that  is  the  story.  Another 
point  which  should  be  brought  forth,  something  in  which  every  city  is 
interested  in,  Do  packing  houses  use  their  house  for  the  storage  of 
other  products  than  meats? 

Mr.  Horne:  Yes. 

Delegate:  Will  you  discuss  the  preservative  efficiency  of  cold 
storage?  There  has  been  a  popular  impression,  for  instance,  that  a  cold- 
storage  egg  was  a  bad  egg.  Will  you  tell  us  something  about  the  preserva- 
tive efficiency  of  cold  storage? 

Mr.  Horne  :  May  I  answer  your  question  by  asking  this  of  an  expert 
on  this  topic?  I  would  ask  that  Dr.  Pennington  answer  this  gentleman's 
question. 

Dr.  Pennington:  I  really  think  I  occupied  enough  of  your  time 
previously. 

Mr.  Horne  :  No,  we  would  like  to  hear  from  you  because  you  are  an 
expert. 

Dr.  Pennington:  The  department  in  the  keeping  of  "eggs  and 
poultry  under  refrigeration,  both  in  the  cooler  temperature  which  is 
ordinarily  about  32°,  and  freezing,  which  is  10°  below  zero,  we  find  that 
chickens  will  keep  for  at  least  one  year,  absolutely  wholesome  and  in  a 
desirable  condition  and  salable  condition.  At  the  end  of  nine  months  of 
storage,  if  the  fresh  well-handled  product  is  cooked  side  by  side  with 
storage  well  handled,  the  most  expert  chicken  tasters  we  have,  have  been 
unable  to  tell  the  difference.  At  the  end  of  twelve  months,  these  expert 
chicken  tasters,  by  considering  it  carefully,  can  mostly  tell  the  difference. 
Sometimes  they  can't.  After  twelve  months  or  sixteen  months  we  can 
always  tell  them  by  taste.  When  it  comes  to  a  laboratory  analysis,  the 
scientific  side  of  the  question,  there  is  a  difference  in  the  chemical  com- 
position, so  small,  however,  it  can  be  found  in  the  laboratory  but  not  large 
enough  to  make  any  difference  so  far  as  we  are  able  to  detect  any  dif- 
ference in  food  value  or  wholesomeness  of  the  product.  At  the  end  of 
six  months  or  a  year  we  have  never  been  able  to  detect  from  our  bacterial 
and  chemical  analysis,  anything  that  is  of  absolute  importance  or  any- 
thing that  it  is  necessary  to  consider,  up  to  the  storage  period  of  one  year. 
Therefore  we  say,  and  we  think  we  have  abundant  evidence  to  justify 


146 

our  so  saying,  that  poultry  will  keep  in  perfect  condition  for  a  period  of 
one  year  or  from  season  to  season.  Eggs,  if  in  good  condition,  will  cer- 
tainly keep  for  a  period  of  nine  months,  and  many  will  hold  up  to  ten 
months.  For  our  own  consumption  I  put  them  in  in  April  and  use  them 
well  into  January. 

Mr.  Horne:  Can  you  tell  us  what  in  your  judgment  would  be  the 
effect  of  any  limit  of  time  under,  we  will  say,  ten  months  on  eggs,  or 
twelve  months  on  butter.  What  would  be  the  effect  on  the  consumer  if 
such  a  law  was  in  effect? 

Dr.  Pennington:  So  far  as  we  can  judge  as  to  the  situation,  the 
production,  supply  and  distribution  and  demand  are  some  of  the  various 
factors  entering  into  this  question.  To  limit  the  time  of  the  storage 
period  beyond  a  certain  period  is  decidedly  against  the  consumer  in  serv- 
ing his  demands. 

Delegate:  At  what  temperature  are  eggs  and  some  of  the  other 
leading  commodities  kept? 

Mr.  Horne:  Eggs  are  carried  at  from  29  to  31°  F.  and  apples  are 
carried  at  from  30  to  32°  F. 

Delegate  :  Then  all  things  could  be  kept  in  one  room? 

Mr.  Horne:  By  no  means. 

Delegate  :  Different  temperature  for  different  things? 

Mr.  Horne  :  Yes. 

Delegate  :  Would  you  say  the  high  cost  is  due  to  refrigeration? 

Mr.  Horne  :  Lack  of  refrigeration. 

Mrs.  Smith:  The  question  has  been  asked  as  to  what  Dr.  Penning- 
ton thinks  as  to  a  nine  months'  limit  on  cold  storage.  Is  fish  fit  to  eat 
after  being  in  storage  nine  months? 

Dr.  Pennington:  I  know  of  no  reason  why,  if  fish  was  good  when 
it  was  put  in,  but  that  it  should  be  fit  to  eat.  I  wouldn't  say  as  to  much 
beyond  that  time,  but  I  know  that  at  the  end  of  a  year  it  is  good  to  eat. 

Mrs.  Smith:  Will  Dr.  Pennington  tell  us  how  she  supplies  her 
family,  in  the  way  of  pure  food? 

Dr.  Pennington:  My  family  lives  entirely  on  food  from  out  of  cold 
storage.  I  told  this  tale  at  Atlantic  City  last  night,  and  I  have  told  it 
so  many  times,  everybody  must  know  it  now.  We  buy  in  large  enough 
quantities  to  last  the  family  a  long  period  of  time,  being  desirable  both 
from  the  standpoint  of  cold  storage  and  also  convenience.  For  instance, 
our  eggs  go  in  in  April  and  we  use  them  into  January.  In  between  that 
time  our  cold  storage  product  is  exhausted  and  a  fresh  supply  is  available, 
and  we  have  pretty  good  ways  of  getting  fresh  products.  We  also  use 
canned  eggs.  In  other  words,  we  start  out  in  the  spring  when  eggs  are 
good,  put  them  in  a  two-pound  can,  and  do  them  up  just  as  the  packers 


147 

are  doing  them  in  a  wholesale  way.  The  supplies  of  course  are  fresh. 
When  the  butter  supply  is  best,  we  buy  it.  About  300  pounds  it  takes  for 
our  family  for  a  year,  in  three-pound  tin  cans.  The  butter  this  year  came 
in  from  Minnesota.  We  have  a  year's  supply.  We  buy  every  three  or 
four  months.  The  housekeeper  in  our  family  is  a  woman  who  looks  after 
that  part.  I  am  not  a  housekeeper.  She  goes  to  the  wholesale  meat 
butcher,  she  knows  how  to  handle  beef,  having  studied  the  question  care- 
fully, and  she  buys  the  meat  in  wholesale  quantities, — carcasses  of  mutton, 
sides  and  loins  or  ribs  or  whatever  we  want,  in  regular  wholesale  prices. 
Then  it  is  cut  into  household  quantities — steaks,  chops,  meats  for  stewing, 
soup  bones,  suet  and  all  the  rest  of  it.  These  cuts  are  made  up  in  small 
quantities  as  our  household  demands  them.  They  are  put  into  the  freezer, 
sealed,  each  package  being  packed  and  numbered  and  our  household  ledger 
— instead  of  attending  to  these  things  over  the  telephone  we  run  our  house 
by  means  of  our  household  ledger — will  show  for  instance  ''No.  7,"  which 
means  so  many  chops,  ''No.  5,"  which  means  a  certain  weight  of  roast, 
and  so  on.  We  buy  apples  by  the  barrel,  put  them  in  coolers.  We  buy 
cranberries,  32-quart  cases,  hold  them  for  a  year  if  we  want  to.  We  also 
put  in  baskets  of  corn.  We  are  having  com  off  the  cob  just  as  fresh  as  you 
have  it  from  the  stalk.  We  are  getting  the  benefit  of  wholesale  prices 
and  we  are  getting  better  food  than  we  ever  did  in  our  lives,  because  we  are 
going  back  to  the  very  first  source  of  production  of  handling.  We  put  in 
the  best  food  we  can  get.  We  are  running  the  household  account  on  an 
economical  and  efficient  basis.  We  are  getting  our  money's  worth  out  of 
it,  and  it  has  made  housekeeping  a  very  fascinating  experiment  indeed,  and 
a  business  proposition.  Whereas,  from  the  ordinary  telephone  point-of- 
view,  whether  it  is  2  cents'  worth  of  something  you  want,  it  takes  5  cents 
to  supply  it  and  you  don't  get  what  you  order  at  that.  Our  way  is  much 
better. 

Mrs.  Smith  :  I  asked  Dr.  Pennington  if  I  could  do  this  and  she  said 
"No,  I  couldn't."  But,  for  instance,  if  a  number  of  women  clubbed 
together  to  learn  what  our  households  wanted — I  am  not  at  all  scientific 
myself — we  could  put  into  storage  our  particular  packages,  and  follow  out 
the  storage  system  as  she  has  outlined.  In  that  way  we  could  have  a 
supply  that  would  reduce  the  high  cost  of  living  to  a  minimum. 

Delegate:  Has  she  different  departments  for  different  things  at 
different  temperatures,  or  are  they  all  at  the  same  temperature? 

Dr.  Pennington  :  Yes.  You  can  divide  into  the  necessary  tempera- 
tures. You  can  hold  all  your  vegetables  and  your  food-stuffs  that  don't 
have  to  be  frozen,  ordinarily  at  32,  and  what  is  ordinarily  to  be  frozen 
is  held  at  10.  So  the  arrangement  of  temperatures  is  not  so  great  for 
ordinary  purposes.     The  larger  the  unit  the  greater  the  efficiency. 

Delegate:  Refrigeration,  especially  for  a  private  home,  is  rather 
expensive,  isn't  it? 


148 

Dr.  Pennington:  We  are  using  public  refrigeration  houses. 

Delegate  :  Isn't  it  one  of  the  difficulties  of  cold  storage  taking  care 
of  the  stuff  after  it  leaves  there?  It  seems  to  me  it  wouldn't  keep  very  long 
after  it  comes  out  of  cold  storage. 

Dr.  Pennington:  I  might  say  that  in  modem  cold  storage  plants 
they  are  never  out  of  the  proper  temperature. 

Mr.  Horne:  In  Atlantic  City  yesterday,  in  discussing  the  question 
of  apples,  it  was  stated  that  apples  after  being  taken  out  of  cold  storage 
kept  better  than  apples  kept  in  common  storage,  and  after  being  taken  out 
of  storage  they  showed  up  better  than  apples  kept  in  common  storage  for 
a  like  period. 

Delegate  :  How  about  peaches? 

Mr.  Horne:  Peaches  in  cold  storage  are  not  kept  for  a  long  time, 
generally  or  usually  only  for  several  weeks  or  a  month. 

Delegate  :  I  notice  the  skin  usually  falls  off. 

Mr.  Horne  :  I  have  been  in  the  business  for  quite  a  number  of  years, 
and  peaches  never  kept  over  a  month  or  six  weeks;  that  is  the  limit. 

Mrs.  Smith:  Is  it  the  consensus  of  opinion  among  cold-storage  people 
interested  in  cold  storage,  that  there  should  be  a  cold  storage  law? 

Mr.  Horne:  There  is  a  law  which  provides  for  selling  cold  storage 
goods  for  what  they  are.  They  passed  a  measure  restricting  the  time 
limits. 

Mr.  Brown:  How  would  you  remove  the  prejudice  from  the  con- 
sumer's mind  that  the  price  is  established  through  cold  storage  houses? 

Mr.  Horne  :  That  is  quite  a  problem.  I  think  our  friends  are  reason- 
able men  whom  we  have  had  listening  to  us,  and  who  will  study  the  subject 
honestly  and  deliberately.  I  am  sure  when  we  get  a  fair  chance  at  them, 
and  I  believe  I  am  stating  a  fact,  that  the  reporters  who  are  here  represent- 
ing the  newspapers  are  not  responsible  for  what  is  contained  in  the  news- 
papers, but  the  city  editor's  fault  who  is  looking  for  sensation,  for  something 
that  is  unusual.  The  usual,  regular,  wholesome  news  is  not  the  stuff  they 
want  to  print,  or  put  in  their  headlines. 

Delegate:  You  are  right  on  that. 

Delegate  :  How  do  you  provide  for  your  marketing? 

Dr.  Pennington:  We  market  twice  a  week,  make  our  menus  ten  days 
ahead.  We  take  out  a  basket  load  of  meats  each  week.  Of  course,  butter 
and  eggs,  peaches  and  fruits,  are  easier  to  handle.  It  is  your  fish  and 
poultry  you  must  start  on  time.  The  basket  comes  out  Thursday  because 
we  have  fish  Friday,  and  fish  is  the  first  thing  you  must  use  Friday  night, 
thawed  out  and  ready  to  eat.  Always  leave  it  thaw  out  where  it  is  cool  and 
dry.  Fish,  Friday  night,  Saturday  night,  chops,  and  on  Sunday,  roast. 
In  the  summer  time  you  place  your  meat  in  the  refrigerator  so  it  ripens 


149 

gradually  in  your  ice  box,  and  by  Sunday  your  roast  is  ready  to  eat.  Mut- 
ton ripens  first.  If  you  have  roast  chicken  it  takes  considerably  longer  to 
ripen.  They  are  picked  well,  then  put  in  the  ice  box  where  they  are  cooled. 
I  know  it  takes  three  or  four  days  for  a  roaster  to  ripen  properly;  it  takes 
about  three  days  for  a  broiler  to  ripen.  It  takes,  of  course,  from  24  to  48 
hours  for  a  chicken  to  thaw.  It  comes  to  the  house  frozen.  These  are 
some  of  the  problems  of  supplying  your  own  home  and  family.  Besides, 
a  man  is  needed  to  help  out  in  the  work  generally.  This  is  how  your  menu 
is  made  up  and  carried  out  from  the  time  it  leaves  cold  storage  until  it  is 
served  in  the  form  of  a  meal  on  your  table.  The  basket  goes  out  14  miles 
by  railroad,  and  then  returned  and  delivered  to  the  house  from  the  sta- 
tion by  the  ordinary  carriages. 

Delegate:  Can  you  soft  boil  an  egg  after  it  has  been  in  storage  a 
year? 

Dr.  Pennington:  Yes,  you  can  boil  it,  but  whether  you  can  eat  it 
or  not  I  don't  know.     I  never  tried  it  and  I  don't  think  I  would. 

Delegate:  Yes,  certainly  it  can  be  done.  I  tried  it  after  14  months. 
We  just  tried  it  for  an  experiment,  after  14  months.  I  represented  the 
storage  house  and  the  egg  dealer. 

Mr.  McDonald  :  I  move  that  we  offer  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Dr.  Pen- 
nington, Professor  King,  and  Mr.  Miller  and  Mr.  Home  for  their  able 
addresses  here  this  afternoon. 

[Motion  seconded  and  carried  by  unanimous  rising  vote.] 

[Adjournment  until  the  evening  session.] 


Council  Chamber,  City  Hall,  Friday  Evening,  8  o'Clock. 


Chairman,  Charles  Z.  Tryon,  Esquire,  President,  Hardware  Mer- 
chants' and  Manufacturers'  Association, 

Mr.  Tryon  in  opening  the  meeting  spoke  as  follows:  Mr.  Calwell, 
Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  take  it  that  the  problem  of  all  civilization  is  to 
devise  ways  and  means  whereby  men  may  live  together  in  communities 
with  a  just  proportion  of  comfort,  convenience  and  happiness  to  all.  The 
savage  was  never  hampered  with  any  such  conditions.  He  killed  his  enemies 
without  legal  complications,  he  found  his  own  food  in  the  forest  without 
the  necessity  of  the  railway  or  the  store,  he  grew  his  own  corn  and  he 
carried  his  skins  to  the  nearest  trading  post  and  swapped  them  for  such 
articles  as  he  needed  in  the  way  of  powder,  shot  and  simple  clothing  without 
recourse  to  any  medium  of  exchange. 

Now  all  the  varied  complications  of  the  civilized  life  of  today — the 
great  storehouses,  great  banking  institutions,  our  railways  and  granaries, 
are  simply  complications  that  have  arisen  because  we  are  now  endeavoring 
to  live  in  greatly  congested  communities.  We  are  all  trying  to  solve,  under 
very  difficult  conditions,  the  problem  of  civilized  life,  that  is,  to  live  together 
in  some  measure  of  harmony,  comfort,  justice  and  happiness  to  all. 

Men  have  discovered  and  invented  many  things.  They  have  experi- 
mented with  the  great  forces  of  nature  with  wonderful  results.  Some 
things  have  been  tried  so  many  times  that  we  may  feel  positively  sure  of 
definite  results.  Others  are  still  uncertain,  but  I  ask  you  to  remember 
that  there  is  at  least  one  thing  about  which  we  may  be  absolutely  sure, 
and  that  is  the  unchangeable  and  positive  law  of  nature.  There  is  nothing 
quite  so  positive  and  sure  as  agriculture. 

Engineers  may  build  wonderful  structures,  and  up  to  a  certain  point 
the  accumulated  wisdom  of  centuries  tells  them  that  a  structure  will 
stand  a  certain  amount  of  weight  or  pressure;  beyond  that  point  these 
engineers  are  uncertain.  A  man  may  build  a  twenty  story  building,  but 
he  is  not  sure  that  he  can  rent  the  rooms.  A  railroad  can  project  its  lines 
into  a  new  country,  but  many  of  them  have  failed  before  that  country 
could  sustain  the  railroad.  But  when  we  come  to  mother  nature  in  her 
primitive  form,  we  are  at  once  upon  a  sound  foundation  with  absolutely 
no  uncertainty.  You  may  lose  faith  in  mechanics,  in  science,  in  philosophy, 
and  even  in  religion,  but  there  is  one  solid  rock  upon  which  you  can  always 
stand  no  matter  who  you  are  or  where  you  are,  and  that  rock  is  natural 
law.     Under  certain  given  conditions,  nature  will  always  do  the  same  thing. 

When  you  take  a  seed  that  is  living  and  put  it  into  the  ground,  give 
it  proper  natural  surroundings  and  conditions,  it  will  grow  and  you  cannot 

(150) 


151 

stop  it  unless  you  root  it  out  and  kill  it.  We  know  the  sun  will  rise  to- 
morrow. We  know  that  next  spring  crops  will  grow.  It  is  upon  this 
basis  which  every  man  actually  lives,  whether  he  recognizes  the  fact  or  not. 

If,  therefore,  agriculture  may  be  considered  the  basis  of  all  life,  and 
we  find  ourselves  in  congested  communities,  detached  of  necessity  from 
close  contact  and  association  with  this  foundation  of  life,  it  is  at  once 
evident  that  the  greatest  problem  of  modern  days  is  to  get  the  proper 
adjustment  between  the  producer  and  the  consumer,  but  in  making  this 
statement,  dividing  the  producer  from  the  consumer,  we  make  a  state- 
ment which  is  not  exactly  true,  because  as  a  matter  of  fact  all  are  pro- 
ducers and  consumers. 

This  convention  is  for  the  purpose  of  determining  whether  or  not 
the  present  arrangements  between  the  producers  and  consumers  is  the 
best  that  can  be  thought  out,  but  whatever  our  deliberations  may  lead 
to,  we  must  recognize  the  fact  that  the  present  methods  are  the  result 
of  slow  progressive  changes,  society  adjusting  itself  at  each  point  as  new 
conditions  have  arisen,  and  no  radical  and  completely  successful  rearrange- 
ment can  possibly  be  adopted  in  any  short  space  of  time.  Let  me  diverge 
for  one  moment.  I  happen  to  be  personally  one  of  those  terrible  middle- 
men that  we  now  hear  so  much  about,  who  stands  between  the  producer 
and  the  consumer.  I  happen  to  be  a  jobber,  but  I  represent  tonight 
the  Hardware  Merchants'  and  Manufacturers'  Association  of  Philadelphia, 
composed  of  the  great  manufacturing  industries  of  Philadelphia  and  the 
great  hardware  distributing  houses. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  go  into  a  discussion  of  the  question  of  jobbers. 
You  probably  have  discussed  that  at  many  of  your  meetings.  I  believe 
the  jobber  is  a  necessity,  otherwise  he  would  not  exist,  and  so  I  believe 
the  middleman  and  the  distributor  of  agriculture  is  a  necessity. 

Now  what  do  we  do  in  the  hardware  business  in  the  effort  to  adjust 
ourselves  to  the  complicated  conditions  of  trade?  We  have  formed  this 
association  of  manufacturers  and  jobbers,  and  we  get  together  once  a 
month  in  friendly  intercourse,  and  there  we  thrash  out  in  a  spirit  of  good 
fellowship  our  differences.  This  I  claim  is  the  difference  between  modern 
trade  and  that  of  a  few  decades  ago.  People  who  have  interests  that 
are  divergent  or  partially  in  harmony  and  partially  divergent,  instead  of 
standing  off  at  long  range  and  fighting  out  the  battle  by  correspondence, 
meet  face  to  face  and  talk  the  situation  over. 

In  a  larger  sense  that  is  just  what  world's  fairs  are  for,  so  that  people 
from  the  rural  districts  can  see  how  shoes  are  made,  how  clothes  are 
made,  what  thought  has  been  required  in  designing  them;  and  the  man 
from  the  city  sees  the  great  agricultural  products  there  exhibited.  So 
this  convention  is  for  the  same  purpose  of  bringing  together  the  man  that 
produces  the  great  natural  wealth  of  the  country  and  the  man  that  pro- 
duces other  things,  so  that  each  shall  have  an  intelligent  appreciation  of 
the  other's  viewpoint  of  life. 


152 

I  understand  that  this  evening  is  to  be  very  largely  devoted  to  an 
illustrated  lecture  upon  the  education  of  our  boys  and  girls  in  relation  to 
the  fundamentals  of  life.  How  simple,  and  yet  how  vastly  important; 
as  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  just  exactly  what  every  parent  is  trying  to  do. 
I  can  look  back  upon  no  experience  in  my  life  which  I  consider  of  more 
value  than  three  summers  which  I  spent  as  a  boy  upon  a  farm,  harrow- 
ing corn,  working  in  the  truck  garden,  picking  potatoes,  making  hay, 
thrashing,  milking  and  a  hundred  and  one  things  incidental  to  that  life. 
I  learned  then,  as  I  should  never  have  learned  since,  the  language  of  every 
barnyard  fowl  and  the  practice  and  customs  of  the  men  who  form  in 
reality  the  backbone  of  our  nation^ — The  American  Farmer.  [Applause.] 
Now  this  advantage  is  rarely  given  to  the  city  youth,  just  as  the  problems 
of  city  life  are  rarely  exhibited  to  the  agriculturist.  Consequently  the 
proper  adjustment  has  been  long  delayed,  but  such  meetings  as  these 
will  rapidly  clear  the  ground  for  an  intelligent  understanding  of  the  whole 
situation  by  all  parties. 

What  is  the  condition  in  Pennsylvania  today  regarding  these  men 
upon  whom  every  one  of  us  in  the  city  depends?  What  has  the  farmer 
done  that  his  children  may  know  how,  intelligently,  to  get  the  very  best 
of  mother  nature, — she  is  bursting  with  good  things,  if  they  but  know 
how  to  gather  nothing  less  than  the  best. 

We  have  agricultural  colleges  which  are  doing  a  magnificent  work, 
and  many  of  our  young  men  are  attending  these  institutions,  but  what 
we  need  are  agricultural  schools  that  will  charge  a  nominal  price  for  the 
proper  education  of  the  youth  of  our  farming  districts.  There  is  perhaps 
too  much  head  and  tail  to  our  system  of  agricultural  education  today 
and  not  enough  body.  This  is  the  trouble  with  too  many  of  the  projects 
today  which  are  launched  at  the  hands  of  our  legislatures.  I  repeat,  it 
is  this  secondary  education  that  is  desired  in  this  state,  and  what  we 
want  is  men  who  can  get  back  into  the  country  and  teach  the  people 
what  is  the  best  modern  method  to  pursue  in  the  raising  of  their  crops. 
That  I  take  it  is  a  part  of  what  is  hoped  to  be  accomphshed  by  these 
conventions,  together  with  the  equally  important  matters  of  agricultural 
banking;  relations  to  the  railroad,  middlemen,  warehouse  companies,  etc. 

In  closing  may  I  say  that  the  boys'  camps  which  are  now  being 
instituted  in  our  mountain  districts,  where  young  men  and  boys  are  sent 
in  the  summer  time  rather  than  to  our  fashionable  hotels,  are  a  splendid 
course  in  the  line  of  healthful  education,  but  if  I  had  the  opportunity  to 
choose  between  sending  a  son  of  mine  to  one  of  these  camps  or  of  send- 
ing him  for  the  summer  months  to  a  farm,  offering  him  the  opportunity 
of  getting  into  the  closest  possible  touch  with  nature,  I  would  decide  to 
send  him  to  that  farm  instead  of  to  the  boys'  camp.     [Applause.] 

Mrs.  Smith:  We  have  with  us  tonight  Mr.  A.  P.  Sandles,  President 
of  Ohio  Agricultural  Commission,  who  is  responsible  for  the  work  along 


153 

secondary  educational  lines  in  Ohio.  Mr.  Sandles  can  be  of  the  greatest 
benefit  to  us  and  to  this  State  in  saying  a  few  words  to  us  on  the  work  he 
has  been  doing  out  there.  Almost  all  the  states  are  doing  better  work 
along  this  line  than  Pennsylvania.  This  Ohio  trip  shows  us  what  they  are 
doing  in  Ohio  in  that  direction.  I  am  only  too  sorry  that  I  am  obliged  to 
limit  him  in  his  remarks  to  about  eight  minutes. 

Mr.  a.  p.  Sandles  (President,  Ohio  Agricultural  Commission): 
How  many  in  this  place  tonight  have  at  some  time  in  their  lives  lived  on  a 
farm?  [Hands  raised.]  How  many  now  live  on  farms?  [Hands  raised.] 
I  imagine  that  the  conference  you  now  have  in  progress  is  a  good  business 
to  be  in.  I  am  sure  that  suggestions  will  be  made  here  that  will  enlarge 
your  view  and  your  vision,  and  your  power  to  do  good  where  good  must  be 
done,  if  the  wealth  and  strength  of  this  nation  are  to  continue  and  to  be 
perpetuated.  We  come  to  your  city  today  one  thousand  and  five,  boys  and 
girls,  who  have  accomplishment  to  their  credit.  Ohio  is  getting  what  it 
has  long  needed,  and  what  other  states  need,  and  that  is,  enthusiasm  right 
back  in  the  cornfield  and  in  the  kitchen.  [Applause.]  We  have  150  girls 
who  have  won  prizes  at  baking,  sewing  and  canning;  girls  who  are  emu- 
lating the  housekeeping  virtues  of  their  mothers  in  the  kitchen,  and  that 
kind  of  virtue  means  more  than  the  Tango  and  Turkey-Trot  athletics  of 
modern  days.  [Applause.]  The  girl  who  can  cook  a  meal  and  bake  bread  is 
making  fewer  divorce  cases  for  the  future  courts. 

We  have  with  us  boys  who  are  working  out  their  own  problems,  boys 
who  in  their  eagerness  to  win  are  consulting  the  Director  of  the  Experi- 
mental Station  of  Ohio,  who  is  here  tonight,  Director  Thome.  The  boys 
who  are  getting  licked  in  this  contest  are  good  soldiers.  They  say,  "We 
will  fight  again,"  but  before  we  do  it  we  are  going  down  to  the  College 
of  Agriculture  at  Columbus,  and  we  are  going  to  get  some  scientific  knowl- 
edge, and  we  will  get  the  measure  of  that  other  son-of-a-gun  who  beat  us 
last  year.     [Applause.] 

We  have  here  tonight  Dean  Price,  who  if  he  had  time  could  stand  up 
here  and  testify  how  the  College  of  Agriculture  attendance  is  multiplying 
every  year,  and  we  are  doing  something  for  the  boy  uniformed  in  overalls 
right  back  in  the  cornfield.  Yesterday  when  we  were  in  the  White  House, 
being  royally  received  there,  it  was  the  Log  House  shaking  hands  with 
the  White  House. 

We  are  giving  to  the  boys  of  Ohio  the  conviction  that  they  can  win 
victories,  can  see  something  of  the  world,  and  win  some  of  its  honors  and 
distinctions  on  the  farm,  as  well  as  the  boy  and  girl  Who  lives  off  the  farm. 
We  are  giving  to  the  boys  and  girls  in  Ohio  the  opportunity  to  get  thejr 
names  and  their  pictures  in  the  newspapers  of  the  state  of  Ohio.  Don't 
you  know  I  would  rather  publish  the  name  and  picture  of  the  boy  who  can 
raise  100  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre,  or  the  girl  who  can  win  a  domestic 
science  contest — I  would  rather  publish  that  kind  of  a  picture  on  the  first 


154 

page  of  a  newspaper  than  I  would  Jack  Johnson  or  Harry  Thaw. 
[Applause.] 

My  good  friends,  we  have  got  the  corn  and  dirt  rehgion  in  Ohio  working 
in  every  county,  every  township  and  every  nook  and  corner,  every  school, 
every  church,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the  Grange,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and 
the  bankers  and  the  railroad  men  are  trying  to  get  into  good  society  in 
Ohio.     [Applause.] 

My  good  friends,  we  have  an  example  never  before  equaled  in  the 
world,  of  $40,000  being  contributed  in  good  money  of  volunteer  subscrip- 
tions to  pay  the  expenses  of  boys  and  girls  to  the  national  capital,  and  to  the 
good  old  city  of  Brotherly  Love.  It  is  the  public  spirit  in  Ohio  that  is 
paying  the  bill,  and  not  the  public  treasury.  It  has  taken  hold  everywhere. 
We  are  learning  out  there  that  our  government  has  been  stimulating 
manufacturers,  as  well  as  many  other  lines,  that  at  last,  when  the  high-cost 
of  living  is  a  menace  to  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  this  country,  our 
nation  and  people  are  turning  the  corner-stone  and  bed-rocked  wealth  and 
prosperity,  and  that  is,  agriculture. 

My  good  friends,  I  wish  I  had  a  little  more  time,  but  I  am  going  to 
cut  it  short,  to  tell  you  what  a  wonderful  hold  it  has  had,  how  much  inspira- 
tion it  has  given  to  the  boys  and  girls. 

Don't  you  know  that  a  lot  of  farmers  are  so  stingy  and  narrow-gauged 
that  they  make  little  money-mills  out  of  the  boys,  trying  to  extract  every 
penny  from  their  labor.  They  let  them  eat  and  sleep  in  the  house,  but  make 
them  work  like  horses,  and  they  don't  want  the  boy  to  get  any  more  pleasure 
out  of  life  than  the  horse  is  getting.  That  is  just  what  is  taking  a  lot  of 
boys  and  girls  off  the  farm,  and  it  is  this  contest  work,  this  encouraging 
the  boy  in  the  field  that  is  making  him  fall  in  love  with  the  dirt  religion  in 
Ohio. 

My  good  friends,  I  want  to  place  on  exhibition  here  tonight  three  of 
our  products,  two  of  ours  and  one  of  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Bright,  I  want 
you  to  stand  up.  Here  is  a  manly  young  man,  who  went  to  work  and  put 
his  head  in  the  game,  and  by  studying  drainage  and  fertilization,  and  good 
seed-bed,  won  the  championship  prize  as  a  wheat-grower  in  Ohio — 54 
bushels,  37  pounds,  and  that  is  a  splendid  victory  not  only  for  Earl  Bright, 
but  for  humanity.  This  little  gold  badge  was  given  to  him  by  the  boys 
and  girls  of  his  township  because  he  won  the  honor  for  his  community. 
Earl  is  a  good  fellow,  and  I  have  given  him  a  certificate  to  pick  out  any 
young  lady  he  wants  in  the  whole  community. 

Mr.  Rose,  stand  up.  This  manly  young  fellow,  unmarried  [laughter], 
raised  ISItV  bushels  on  one  acre.  [Applause.]  That  is  splendid.  And 
when  a  boy  puts  a  grain  of  corn  in  the  ground  and  gets  two  ears,  and 
contributes  that  to  the  wealth  of  the  world,  that  boy  is  contributing  more 
to  the  cause  of  humanity  than  Jack  Johnson,  the  prize  fighter,  ever  did. 
[Applause.]  One  hundred  and  thirty-one  bushels  stand  to  his  credit,  and 
our  three  thousand  boys  in  Ohio  this  year  in  the  corn  contest  will  average 


155 

eighty  bushels.  The  ten-year  average  in  Ohio  is  about  thirty-five  or 
thirty-six,  and  we  have  got  a  whole  lot  of  boys  in  Ohio  who  are  forty  or 
fifty  bushels  better  than  a  man,  and  that  is  good. 

The  next  boy  is  John  Robinson,  a  squire  of  Pennsylvania.  This 
young  man  is  the  champion  corn-grower  of  Old  Pennsylvania  in  the  year 
1913.  [Applause.]  We  learned  about  his  little  victory,  and  we  are  doing 
the  same  thing  for  the  boys  and  girls  in  Ohio,  and  when  we  learned  about 
this  young  man,  we  had  him  meet  our  train  at  Altoona,  where  we  picked 
him  up  and  he  has  been  with  us  ever  since.  He  is  a  manly  little  fellow,  and 
Pennsylvania  ought  to  be  proud  of  him,  because  Ohio  is.  Three  years  ago 
he  was  out  in  Ohio,  one  of  our  boys,  going  to  school  there,  you  know. 
[Applause.] 

I  want  you  to  give  the  boys  and  girls  the  right  kind  of  encouragement, 
get  them  inspired  with  the  desire  to  want  more  of  the  knowledge  of  farming. 
When  we  take  these  three  thousand  reports,  we  tabulate  them,  and  put 
on  the  outside  the  boys  who  tested  their  seed  and  get  their  average  per  acre ; 
then  we  take  the  boys  over  here  who  did  not  test  the  seed  and  get  their 
average  per  acre,  and  then  we  have  got  the  best  proof  in  the  world  that  it 
pays  to  test  seed  com,  and  so  forth  with  tillage  and  fertilization.  Don't 
you  know  that  it  is  just  a  splendid  thing  to  have  six  trains  start  out  of 
Ohio  last  Monday,  stopping  here  and  there  picking  up  a  car  load  of  human- 
ity. That  was  a  splendid  thing.  Then,  coming  to  the  national  capital, 
and  standing  at  the  tomb  of  Washington.  It  was  the  cornfield  and  kitchen 
that  gave  them  that  honor,  and  that  opportunity,  and  when  I  asked  the 
boys  to  give  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  old  farm,  you  ought  to  have  seen  the 
lot  of  caps  come  off  and  the  cheers  that  went  up.  It  counts.  That  is 
what  we  are  doing  in  Ohio. 

I  think  I  have  talked  about  two  minutes  longer  than  your  Chairman 
asked  me  to  talk,  but  it  is  something  that  has  got  hold  of  Ohio,  and  it 
ought  to  get  a  hold  of  you.  Go  right  back  and  give  encouragement  to  the 
boy  and  girl  who  is  doing  the  business.     Much  obliged. 

Mrs.  Smith  at  this  point  introduced  Mr.  Pierce,  of  Maryland,  who  said 
that  he  was  a  little  ashamed  of  what  they  had  done  in  Maryland  after 
hearing  some  of  the  Ohio  people.  He  explained  the  different  processes  of 
raising  corn  in  Maryland  and  outlined  the  excellent  results  that  have  been 
obtained  therefrom. 

Mrs.  Smith  then  introduced  Mr.  Thorn,  Director  of  the  Experiment 
Station,  in  Ohio,  who  spoke  as  follows: 

Mr.  Thorn  :  Mr.  Sandles  has  told  you  that  the  average  yield  of  com 
in  Ohio  is  35  and  36  bushels.  It  was  that  fifty  years  ago.  It  has  not 
increased  in  that  period  of  time.  Our  average  yield  of  wheat  is  143/^ 
bushels.  Fifty  years  ago  it  was  123/2-  We  have  gained  two  bushels  of 
wheat  in  half  a  century,  largely  owing  to  the  increased  use  of  commercial 


156 

fertilizers  in  our  state  during  the  last  twenty-five  years  of  this  period.  At 
the  experiment  station  we  have  a  splendid  series  of  experiment,  the  most 
extensive  series  of  field  experiments  in  the  western  hemisphere  or  in  the 
world.  We  have  been  showing  for  the  last  ten  years  that  it  was  eminently 
possible  and  practicable  to  double,  or  nearly  double  the  yields  of  corn  and 
wheat  in  Ohio,  and  do  it  by  measures  within  the  reach  of  every  farmer 
within  the  state.  We  have  made  an  effort  to  reach  the  average  farmer 
within  the  state.  There  are  275,000  of  them  in  Ohio.  Of  that  number, 
65,000  have  thought  it  worth  while  to  waste  a  postal  card  in  requesting 
the  bulletins  of  the  Experiment  Station. '  They  will  not  come  to  us;  they 
will  not  listen  to  us;  and  you  have  the  same  history  in  Pennsylvania. 
Mr.  Sandles,  however,  has  solved  the  riddle  for  us.  He  has  cut  the  Gordian 
knot  by  getting  past  the  farmer  to  the  farmer's  boy,  and  through  the 
farmer's  boy  we  are  going  to  reach  the  farmers  of  Ohio;  we  are  going  to 
revolutionize  the  agriculture  of  our  state  within  the  next  ten  or  fifteen 
years.     I  thank  you. 

Mrs.  Smith  :  We  have  with  us  Mr.  Agee,  formerly  of  Pennsylvania 
State  College,  but  now  with  New  Jersey.    We  would  like  to  hear  from  him. 

Mr.  Agee:  Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  would  like 
to  make  the  claim  and  a  true  one  that  I  am  a  Buckeye,  because  I  am  very 
proud  of  my  native  state,  Ohio,  this  evening.  I  am  proud  of  the  fact  that 
in  our  state  of  Ohio  we  have  such  co-operation  in  all  of  our  agricultural 
agencies,  and  that  there  is  no  overlapping,  that  the  money  is  expended  in 
the  wisest  way,  and  that  the  state  is  as  a  unit  promoting  the  art  of  agricul- 
ture. I  have  a  right  to  feel  proud,  as  I  spent  my  boyhood  and  many  later 
years  in  my  native  state. 

Now,  my  good  friends,  your  Chairman  has  insisted  that  I  appear 
before  you,  but  really  I  have  no  special  message.  It  seems  to  be  a  time 
for  congratulation  that  we  are  awakening  to  the  fact  that  we  have  the 
science  that  relates  to  agriculture;  that  we  can  interest  our  young  people 
in  it;  and  that  they  will  naturally  go  back  to  rural  life,  because  there  is  a 
science  connected  with  it,  because  there  is  opportunity.  I  believe  every- 
body in  this  world  should  wor.k.  Most  people  must  work.  I  would  like 
to  see  all  of  our  boys  and  girls  have  an  opportunity  while  in  school  to  get 
some  training  to  travel  along  the  line  of  their  natural  bent.  I  believe  one- 
half  of  the  boys  and  girls  of  this  country  would  naturally  turn  to  rural  life 
if  they  believed  there  was  opportunity  in  it.  I  believe  the  schools  should 
use  for  training  subjects  some  of  the  knowledge  which  shall  enable  that 
fifty  per  cent,  if  I  guess  aright,  to  grab  a-hold  of  the  world's  work  when  they 
go  out  in  the  rural  districts,  rather  than  in  the  centers  of  population. 

You  talk  about  the  drift  to  the  cities,  and  you  deplore  it,  but  the  only 
possible  thing  to  do  is  to  give  that  fifty  per  cent  of  our  youthful  population 
their  rights,  which  is  a  knowledge  of  the  science  which  is  concerned  with 
rural  life.     A  little  bit  of  knowledge  will  enable  them  to  get  hold  of  the 


157 

work  as  they  leave  school,  and  most  of  them  will  get  no  further  than  the 
High  School — a  knowledge  of  the  standing,  a  knowledge  of  the  intellectual 
standing,  and  that  it  is  possible  for  them,  if  they  want  to,  to  master  the 
sciences  that  do  concern  the  soils,  plants  and  animals.  You  can  stop  that 
drift  to  the  city,  that  should  not  occur,  by  letting  those  who  are  nature 
lovers  have  an  opportunity  for  such  development  that  they  will  naturally 
turn  where  they  belong — to  country  Hfe.  You  have  many  speakers.  That 
is  a  distinguished  row  of  talent  on  the  front  seat,  every  one  of  them  almost, 
old  friends  of  mine  for  25  and  30  years  back.  You  do  not  want  to  hear 
from  me.  Mrs.  Smith  has  many  speakers  for  the  evening,  anyway.  I  am 
glad  of  the  chance  of  coming  before  you.  I  am  part  Pennsylvanian  also. 
The  happiest  years  of  my  life  were  spent  in  Pennsylvania,  at  Pennsylvania 
State  College,  where  we  had  the  fun  of  seeing  the  courses  in  agriculture 
grow,  and  a  school  of  agriculture  built  up,  that,  if  you  Pennsylvanians  will 
support  aright,  will  become  one  of  the  greatest  agents  for  good  in  all  these 
United  States.  It  is  going  to  turn  the  youth  of  this  state  towards  rural 
pursuits  as  they  never  have  been  before.     I  thank  you. 

Mrs.  Smith:  I  will  ask  Mr.  McDowell,  of  Pennsylvania  State  College, 
to  speak  to  us  and  tell  what  he  is  doing  in  extension  work;  and  to  tell  you 
also  what  we  could  do  if  we  Pennsylvanians  got  awake  after  the  conference 
and  support  the  extension  movement  as  it  should  be  supported. 


AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE  EXTENSION  SERVICE. 


By  Professor  M.  S.  McDowell, 

Pennsylvania  State  College,  School  of  Agriculture. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  Some  time  ago,  when  land  was  cheap  and  the 
cost  of  living  was  comparatively  low,  the  farmer  was  a  negligible  quantity 
except  possibly  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year.  Today  he  is  a  very  much 
sought-after  individual. 

I  have  been  much  interested  in  the  splendid  showing  made  by  our 
friends  from  Ohio.  I  am  sure  that  the  young  men  and  women  they  have 
brought  here  will  be  an  inspiration,  not  only  to  Ohio  people,  but  to  we 
Pennsylvanians  as  well. 

Mr.  Agee  referred  to  the  fact  that  there  has  been  developed  much 
information  along  scientific  lines.  This  information  has  been  developed 
from  many  sources.  The  Experiment  Stations  have  had  a  large  part  in 
developing  that  information.  The  problem  of  the  extension  work  is  to 
get  this  information  before  the  farmers  in  an  efficient  way.  In  the  exten- 
sion work  which  we  are  doing  at  State  College  the  aim  is  not  only  to  assist 
in  increasing  production  but  to  increase  it  at  a  greater  net  return  for  the 
farmer.  Any  business  man,  when  he  puts  additional  money  into  that 
business,  is  putting  it  in  with  the  idea  of  reaping  a  reasonable  profit  on 
that  extra  investment.  So  it  is  with  the  farmer.  If  he  makes  two  blades 
of  grass  grow  where  one  grew  before,  he  must  do  it  with  a  greater  net  profit. 
It  is  not  altogether  simply  a  problem  of  growing  more  than  had  been  grown 
before.  The  educational  factor  is  a  large  factor  in  increasing  those  net 
returns.  There  are  other  problems  involved,  some  of  which  have  been 
discussed  here.  Even  in  connection  with  problems  of  distribution,  the  edu- 
cational factor  is  a  very  large  one. 

I  want  to  take  a  short  time  to  tell  you  what  we  are  doing  in  the 
agricultural  extension  work  in  Pennsylvania.  In  the  first  place,  we  have 
a  winter  course  in  agriculture  designed  for  the  young  men  and  young 
women  who  do  not  have  the  time  or  money,  and  who  are  not  prepared  to 
spend  four  years  or  two  years  in  training  for  their  lifework,  but  who  can 
spend  twelve  weeks  during  the  winter  months  in  getting  some  training. 

We  now  have  176  students.  Six  of  them  are  women.  In  three 
instances  men  and  their  wives  are  taking  the  course.  The  work  is  arranged 
by  subjects  so  that  the  individual  may  get  the  things  in  which  he  is 
interested.  If  he  is  interested  in  dairying  he  can  take  work  along  that  line. 
Those  interested  in  fruit  can  take  branches  relating  to  horticulture.     Some 

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159 

will  be  interested  in  general  farming.  They  can  choose  the  particular 
things  that  they  need.  The  student  is  given  some  practical  science  which 
underlies  his  business  that  he  can  take  back  and  put  in  use  on  his  own 
farm. 

It  may  be  rather  interesting  to  know  that  of  the  176  pupils  there  this 
year  in  the  short  course,  15  of  them  were  there  last  year  taking  the  course 
and  came  back  again  this  year  to  get  subjects  that  could  not  be  given  to 
them  a  year  ago.  The  increase  in  numbers  this  year  is  one-fourth  to  one- 
third  more  than  it  was  last  year. 

During  the  year  we  have  Farmers'  Week.  This  is  offered  to  place  the 
facilities  of  the  institution  at  the  service  of  the  farmers  of  the  state  so  that 
the  farmer  himself  may  go  to  College  for  at  least  a  week.  It  is  necessary 
to  hold  this  meeting  at  a  time  of  the  year  when  the  regular  students  are 
away  from  the  College  in  order  to  accommodate  the  people.  The  meeting 
the  present  year  will  be  held  December  29  to  January  3.  Over  150  lectures 
and  demonstrations  of  practical  interest  and  value  to  farmers  will  be  given. 
The  faculty  will  be  assisted  by  well-known  experts  from  outside  the  state. 
It  gives  me  pleasure  to  state  that  one  of  them  is  a  pioneer  in  agricultural 
research.  He  has  done  as  much  as  any  other  man  in  this  country  towards 
the  upbuilding  of  agriculture.  I  refer  to  the  gentleman  whom  you  had  the 
pleasure  of  hearing  from  a  few  minutes  ago,  Director  Thorne  of  the  Ohio 
Experiment  Station. 

Last  year  we  had  700  farmers  in  attendance  and  we  hope  this  year 
to  double  that  if  possible.  They  represented  59  counties  in  Pennsylvania 
and  we  hope  this  year  they  may  represent  67  counties  of  the  state. 

We  also  maintain  correspondence  courses.  There  are  36  different 
courses  in  agriculture  offered  by  correspondence.  These  consist  of  a  series 
of  lessons.  A  list  of  questions  accompanies  each  lesson.  Another  lesson 
is  not  sent  until  the  list  of  questions  which  has  accompanied  the  lesson  is 
returned  and  the  answers  are  corrected.  The  answers  are  marked  wrong 
if  they  are  wrong  and  if  it  seems  necessary  comment  is  made  by  underlining 
in  red  ink  so  that  when  the  papers  go  back  the  student  will  see  where  there 
was  error.  This  enables  the  instructor  to  keep  in  close  touch  with  the 
students. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  know  that  4,000  students  are  pursuing  the 
work  in  these  courses  at  the  present  time  and  60  per  cent  of  those  who  start 
the  course  finish  it. 

For  a  number  of  years  we  have  been  sending  an  exhibit  to  the  county 
fairs.  The  county  fair  should  be  primarily  an  educational  proposition. 
The  exhibit  that  we  send  shows  the  result  of  some  of  the  more  important 
experiments  conducted  by  the  Experiment  Station  and  the  practical 
application  of  these  results  to  farm  practice. 

In  addition  to  the  educational  exhibit  stock  representing  various 
breeds  of  dairy  cattle,  beef  cattle,  sheep  and  swine  are  exhibited.  We  have 
been  sending  within  the  last  year  accompanying  each  animal  a  card  pointing 


160 

out  the  good  and  bad  points.  The  exhibit  is  prepared  in  duplicate.  It 
is  housed  in  a  large  tent  30  by  80  feet.  Last  fair  season  14  fairs  were 
visited  and  500,000  people  passed  through  the  tents.  Two  men  from  the 
College  accompanied  the  exhibit.  These  men  met  the  people  and  answered 
inquiries.  Thousands  of  farmers  were  gotten  in  touch  with  and  thousands 
of  questions  were  answered. 

There  are  many  requests  for  examination  of  farms  and  advice.  These 
requests  are  met  so  far  as  possible.  Within  the  last  two  months  or  two 
and  a  half  months,  thirty  such  requests  have  been  met.  In  instances  of 
this  kind  those  asking  the  service  pay  the  traveling  expenses  of  the 
examiner. 

Pennsylvania  is  a  great  dairy  state.  We  try  to  serve  the  interests 
of  the  dairyman.  One  man  gives  practically  all  of  his  time  to  visiting 
individual  dairymen  of  a  community,  discussing  problems  with  them  and 
trying  to  form  a  cow  testing  association.  Such  an  association  makes  it 
possible  for  a  dairyman  to  know  what  each  animal  in  his  herd  is  doing. 
They  may  be  enabled  to  buy  feed  more  economically  and  enabled  to  feed 
their  cows  to  better  advantage  and  reap  a  larger  net  profit. 
There  is  not  time,  however,  to  go  into  the  testing  question. 
We  have  had  a  number  of  excursions  to  the  College.  The  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  ran  three  in  June  of  last  year  and  brought  1800  people. 
That  enables  us  to  get  in  touch  with  the  farmers  in  a  manner  that  is  not 
possible  in  any  other  way.  It  enables  the  people  to  see  the  direct  relation 
between  science  on  the  one  hand  and  practice  on  the  other.  By  looking 
over  the  fertilizer  plats  they  can  see  the  remarkable  differences.  They 
could  go  out  in  some  of  the  fields  and  see  what  the  result  of  practical  appli- 
cation of  these  results  to  those  fields  were.  It  enables  us  to  get  in  closer 
touch  with  them  and  be  of  more  service  to  them. 

One  of  the  movements  that  has  been  referred  to  in  extension  service 
is  the  county  agent  work.  There  are  nine  counties  in  Pennsylvania  in 
which  county  agents  have  been  placed.  They  are  imder  the  supervision 
of  a  state  leader  who  is  a  member  of  our  extension  staff.  There  has  been 
considerable  discussion  of  the  county  agent  here  and  I  shall  not  take  time 
to  discuss  it  now  except  to  say  it  gives  personal  touch  which  is  necessary  to 
do  practical  work. 

I  would  like  to  take  a  minute  to  call  your  attention  to  one  or  two 
things  that  have  been  accomplished  by  the  county  agent.  I  have  in  mind 
one  county  agent  where  recently,  in  a  public  institution  in  that  county, 
the  feed  bill  was  reduced  fifty  per  cent  at  the  same  time  the  milk  flow  was 
increased.  Another  instance :  An  agent  from  one  of  the  northern  counties, 
where  corn  does  not  grow  so  well,  sent  some  samples  to  be  entered  in  the 
contest  here  this  week.  I  would  like  right  here  to  take  this  opportunity 
of  congratulating  the  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank  for  the  work  they  are 
doing  in  organizing  this  corn  contest.  There  is  nothing  that  stimulates 
interest  like  competition.     A  county  agent  in  one  of  the  northern  counties 


161 

sent  some  samples  of  corn  to  be  entered  in  this  contest.  They  had  in  that 
northern  county  two  classes  of  com.  This  com  won  one  first  prize  and  one 
second  prize.  That  shows  some  of  the  things  that  it  is  possible  to  do. 
The  College  has  had  some  little  part  in  the  organization  of  boys'  com 
contests  in  Pennsylvania.  We  have  not  been  able  to  accomplish  as  much 
as  Ohio  but  if  all  the  boys  engaged  in  such  work  were  organized  and  gotten 
together  there  probably  would  be  close  to  1,000  of  them.  The  county  agent 
in  Lancaster  County  was  in  touch  during  the  year  with  700  boys;  Mercer 
County  had  200.  So  while  we  do  not  equal  Ohio  we  are  doing  something 
along  that  line. 

There  is  a  great  demand  for  speakers  at  agricultural  meetings  and 
conferences  and  for  judges  at  fairs  and  similar  meetings.  All  these  demands 
are  met  so  far  as  possible. 

The  correspondence  that  goes  through  the  Extension  Department  is 
very  heavy.  Thousands  of  letters  are  answered  yearly  in  reply  to  inquiries. 
In  a  general  way  this  covers  what  is  being  done  in  the  Extension  Depart- 
ment. As  to  what  may  be  done  we  have  found  by  experience  that  the  most 
satisfactory  way  of  accomplishing  results  is  by  direct  contact  and  concen- 
tration upon  the  chief  problems  of  a  community.  We  found  that  we  were 
reaching  the  farmers  in  eastern  Pennsylvania  to  a  greater  extent  than  the 
farmers  in  western  Pennsylvania.  In  order  to  get  around  that  we  decided 
to  hold  a  Farmers'  Week  in  western  Pennsylvania.  For  four  or  five  years 
we  have  been  holding  those  meetings  in  western  Pennsylvania.  Some  of 
the  main  problems  have  been  persistently  emphasized  and  practical  results 
can  be  seen  from  these  meetings.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  same  thing 
could  not  be  accomplished  in  every  county  and  in  every  district  in  the  state. 

Probably  the  thing  that  offers  the  greatest  field  for  development  is 
the  development  of  the  county  agent  work  to  which  reference  has  been 
made.  Nine  counties  have  been  organized  and  there  is  a  demand  from 
several  additional  counties  to  have  county  agents  placed  there.  There 
are  no  funds  available  at  the  present  time  unless  raised  entirely  by  local 
people.  This  will  mean  eventually  that  Pennsylvania  will  be  organized 
with  agents  in  every  county  or  district.  It  will  mean  that  in  addition 
to  the  present  state  leader  there  must  be  district  leaders  who  will  have 
charge  of  certain  counties  in  order  that  the  work  may  be  properly  super- 
vised. 

All  of  this  work  involves  an  immense  amount  of  labor  and  patience, 
and  I  say  the  latter  advisedly.  I  would  like  to  strike  this  note  here.  There 
is  a  great  demand  all  over  the  country  today  for  county  agents.  This 
movement  is  not  limited  entirely  by  the  lack  of  funds  but  just  as  much  by 
the  lack  of  men  prepared  to  do  the  work.  It  is  easy  to  get  men  but  it  is 
not  easy  to  get  men  who  will  fit  into  the  situation.  It  is  unwise  to  put  a 
man  as  a  county  agent  into  a  county  unless  he  is  capable  of  carrying  that 
work  to  a  successful  conclusion.  They  must  be  prepared  to  do  it  and  it  can 
grow  only  as  the  men  are  prepared  to  do  it.     All  this  is  going  to  require  a 


162 

great  amount  of  labor,  patience  and  a  large  amount  of  money.  The  labor 
we  can  get;  the  patience  we  must  have  in  any  event;  whether  or  not  the 
money  will  be  available  depends  upon  those  for  whom  this  service  is  being 
rendered. 

In  closing  I  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  some  of  you 
may  be  of  great  assistance  in  the  matter  of  the  bill  that  is  pending  before 
Congress  at  the  present  time.  This  Lever  Bill  (House  Bill  No.  7951) 
provides  for  national  funds  for  each  state  for  carrying  on  this  extension 
work;  $10,000  is  appropriated  outright  to  each  state.  In  addition  it 
provides  for  an  initial  appropriation  of  $300,000  to  be  distributed  among 
the  several  states  in  proportion  that  the  total  rural  population  of  that 
state  bears  to  the  total  rural  population  of  the  entire  country.  I  think 
Pennsylvania's  percentage  would  be  a  little  over  six  per  cent.  This  amount 
is  increased  annually  for  ten  years.  It  further  provides  that  each  state 
must  duplicate  the  appropriation  before  it  becomes  available.  A  word 
to  your  Congressman  or  Senator  may  assist  in  bringing  the  early  passage  of 
that  bill. 

And  finally  I  wish  to  take  this  opportunity  of  expressing  our  apprecia- 
tion to  the  bankers  of  the  state  and  to  all  the  others  who  are  in  attendance 
at  this  conference  for  the  very  valuable  and  helpful  service  rendered  during 
the  campaign  before  the  legislature  last  winter. 

Mr.  •  Calwell  :  How  much  money  did  you  get  from  Harrisburg 
previous  to  the  last  Assembly  for  extension  work? 

Mr.  McDowell  :  There  was  no  money  appropriated  specifically  for 
extension  work.  The  money  used  for  extension  work  was  taken  out  of 
the  general  maintenance,  but  last  year  was  the  first  time  that  the  legislature 
made  a  specific  appropriation  for  extension  work — $20,000  for  two  years. 

Mr.  Calwell:  $10,000  for  each  year? 

Mr.  McDowell:  Yes,  that  is  what  it  amounts  to. 

Mr.  Calwell:  You  cannot  do  very  much  work  on  that. 

Mr.  McDowell:  No;  supplementing  that,  in  addition  to  the  present 
fimds,  we  will  have  to  have  about  $18,000,  all  told,  because  in  addition  to 
the  half  of  the  $20,000  there  has  been  some  money  taken  from  the  general 
maintenance  for  extension  work  during  the  present  year. 

Mrs.  Smith:  What  did  New  York  get  last  year? 

Mr.  McDowell:  I  think  New  York  is  spending  in  the  neighborhood 
of  $500,000  a  year  in  extension  work. 

Mr.  Calwell:   How  many  counties  have  farm  agents? 

Mr.  McDowell:  Nine. 

Mr.  Calwell:  How  many  counties  have  we? 

Mr.  McDowell:  Sixty-seven. 


163 

Mr.  Calwell:  We  have  sixty-seven  counties  and  have  but  nine 
county  agents  in  sixty-seven  counties. 

Mr.  McDowell:  Yes. 

Mrs.  Smith:  Our  association  fought  a  bitter  fight  last  winter  to  get 
the  legislature  to  take  notice  of  this  situation.  The  bankers  also  did 
something  for  the  situation,  and  they  are  going  to  do  a  great  deal  more  in 
this  matter,  I  am  quite  sure,  in  the  future,  so  it  is  up  to  the  farmers  to 
demand  in  this  state,  as  they  did  in  New  York,  that  an  appropriation  shall 
be  made.  It  is  not  the  legislature  that  is  at  fault;  it  is  the  farmers.  The 
legislature  will  do  what  you  want  it  to  do;  it  will  not  do  anything  else. 
If  you  don't  care,  the  legislature  does  not  care.  It  is  up  to  us  farmers. 
We  need  the  things  for  our  children  and  it  must  be  done  in  this  state.  There 
is  nothing  more  critical. 

We  are  now  going  to  call  upon  Mr.  Benson.  We  have  been  stealing 
his  time  right  along,  and  we  are  going  to  stay  a  little  later  to  give  him  a 
chance  to  show  his  slides. 


BOYS'  AND  GIRLS'   CORN   AND    TOMATOES   CLUBS. 


By  O.  H.  Benson, 

Specialist  in  Charge  of  Club  Work,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Office  of 

Farm  Management, 


Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  have  baen  delegated  by 
the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  invited  by  your  Program  Com- 
mittee, to  appear  this  evening  in  further  support  of  the  boys'  and  girls' 
club  work.  My  department  at  Washington  will  expect  me  to  say  and  do 
enough  to  warrant  the  expense  of  sending  me  here,  and  your  committee 
will  expect  me  to  say  and  do  something.  It  is  already  late  and  time  for 
most  of  us  to  seek  our  ''trundle  beds." 

If  I  presume  to  keep  you  a  bit  later  tonight  than  it  is  your  custom  to 
remain  out,  no  doubt  you  will  forgive  me  imder  the  circumstances. 

During  the  past  few  years  it  has  been  my  duty  to  travel  much  out  into 
the  states  in  the  interest  of  boys'  and  girls'  club  work.  With  the  exception 
of  Ohio,  all  of  the  regular  and  national  club  work  has  been  in  co-operation 
with  and  through  the  extension  departments  of  the  colleges  of  agriculture. 
We  recognize  that  the  state  colleges  are  the  legitimate  institutions 
through  which  the  regular  state  extension  work  in  agriculture  should  })e 
performed.  In  the  support  of  this  position  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agri- 
culture has  been  paying  one-half  the  expense  of  one  or  more  state 
leaders  in  each  of  the  twenty  states  in  club  work.  This  leader  is  selected 
by  the  college  authorities  and  is  directly  supervised  by  the  head  of  the 
Extension  Department;  such  arrangements  have  been  perfected  in  twenty 
states  in  the  Union;  all  the  Southern  and  the  following  in  the  North: 
Massachusetts,  Michigan^  Indiana,  Iowa,  Nebraska,  Utah  and  Oregon. 
In  addition,  we  have  tentative  arrangements  through  the  appointment  of 
club  collaborators  in  the  following  states,  who  are  all  ready  for  the  Federal 
half-and-half  plan,  as  soon  as  additional  funds  are  available:  Connecticut, 
Rhode  Island,  Minnesota,  North  Dakota,  South  Dakota,  Idaho,  Wash- 
ington, Kansas  and  California. 

We  appreciate  the  fact  today  as  never  before,  that  if  we  are  to  have  a 
constructive  agriculture,  a  permanent  and  promising  rural  life,  we  will 
not  make  much  headway  by  devoting  all  of  our  time,  energy  and  money 
in  talking  to  and  in  the  instructing  of  the  adult  farmers.  Unfortunately, 
many  of  the  adult  farmers  now  on  the  firing  line  have  too  many  years  of 
habit  back  of  them.  And  second,  they  have  too  much  of  prejudice  for  a 
free  and  efficient  use  of  the  newer  ideas  in  agriculture  and  farm  management 
values.     On  the  contrary,  the  average  American  boy  is  open  minded,  has 

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165 

an  open  heart  and  has  a  whole  lifework  ahead  of  him.  When  the  follow-up 
instructions  are  furnished,  they  will  be  accepted  as  a  whole,  and  not  with 
the  proverbial  "grain  of  salt;"  but  earnestly  and  with  all  his  heart,  the  boy 
translates  the  pages  of  instruction  into  action  upon  the  acres  and  for  the 
good  of  agriculture. 

This  is  exactly  the  reason  why  the  young  people  from  the  states  in 
the  past,  as  well  as  for  the  present  year,  have  a  record  of  real  achievement, 
and  these  boys  before  you  tonight,  the  one  from  Ohio  with  a  report  of  over 
130  bushels  of  com  to  the  acre,  and  the  boy  from  a  Pennsylvania  county, 
with  his  yield  of  144  bushels.  I  congratulate  you,  boys,  for  this  achieve- 
ment, and  for  what  you  have  contributed  to  your  community  and  state, 
for  the  good  of  agriculture.  The  Pennsylvanians  will  be  interested  to 
know  that  another  boy,  by  the  name  of  Charles  Yohe,  of  Tower  City,  made 
a  yield  of  nearly  200  bushels  of  com  to  the  acre  diu*ing  the  past  season, 
and  that  he  will  doubtless  be  the  champion  in  the  club  work  for  the  entire 
State  of  Pennsylvania.  [Applause.]  Charles  Yohe  has  not  only  submitted 
his  official  report,  but  has  had  it  properly  attested  by  two  disinterested 
witnesses,  and  it  shows  a  handsome  net  profit  on  investment.  It  is  neces- 
sary at  this  point  to  make  an  explanation — the  two  yields  above  reported 
from  your  own  state  were  both  made  based  upon  field  measurement  of  ear 
corn.  Both  of  these  yields  will  be  very  materially  reduced  when  the  air- 
dry  56  lbs.  of  shelled  corn  per  bushel  rule  is  applied  as  the  standard.  The 
144  bushels  will  probably  be  100  or  less,  while  the  200  bushel  record,  when 
thus  reduced,  will  probably  be  in  the  neighborhood  of  115  or  120  bushels. 

Ladies  and  gentlemen,  at  the  present  time  America  is  unfortunate 
in  the  fact  that  she  does  not  have  a  definite  American  type  of  farmer. 
We  have  the  German  farmer,  the  Swedish  farmer,  the  Dane,  the  Irishman 
(most  of  these,  by  the  way,  are  farmer  policemen),  and  from  these  various 
European  countries  we  have  been  extremely  fortunate  in  securing  the 
types  that  constitute  our  most  enduring  and  economical  type  of  farming. 
But  you  and  I  will  have  to  search  the  map  over  very  carefully  to  be  able 
to  find  even  a  small  settlement  or  conmiunity  of  the  enduring  and  construc- 
tive type  of  American  farmers,  to  which  I  refer.  There  are  perhaps  a 
few  small  communities  in  eastern  Pennsylvania  that  will  come  more 
nearly  meeting  the  requirements  of  American  farming  than  any  other 
section  of  our  country.  The  hope  of  a  nation  is  in  her  youth.  We  must 
deal  with  them  in  the  springtime  of  life,  at  a  time  when  their  hearts  and 
minds  are  open,  and  when  habits  are  being  formed,  and  out  of  this  type  of 
childhood  to  develop  the  type  of  farmers  and  righteous  citizenship  of  which 
a  nation  might  well  be  proud. 

Friends,  in  addition  to  the  club  work  and  splendid  enrollment  reported 
from  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  their  splendid  list  of  achievements  in  agri- 
culture, you  will  be  interested  to  know  that  for  the  past  eight  years  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  in  co-operation  with  the 
states,  has  been  developing  this  club  work  from  an  enrollment  of  162 


166 

for  the  first  year,  up  to  an  enrollment  of  over  200,000  for  the  current  year. 
This  enrollment  represents  the  work  from  32  states,  and  does  not  include 
the  enrollment  from  Ohio.  The  enrollment  from  the  State  of  Ohio  has 
been  cared  for,  and  the  club  work  conducted  entirely  from  the  office  of 
Commissioner  of  Agriculture  at  Columbus,  and  we  have  had  absolutely 
nothing  to  do  with  the  Corn  Club  work  of  this  state.  This  club  enrollment 
in  the  32  states  has  been  receiving  carefully  prepared  follow-up  instruc- 
tions throughout  the  year.  The  instructions  are  written  for  the  child  mind, 
and  directed  in  small  installments  to  the  club  members  once  a  month,  when 
the  special  instruction  is  needed  on  a  particular  phase  of  the  work.  In 
addition  to  the  instructions  sent  by  mail,  20  of  the  states  have  state  agents 
in  charge  of  club  work,  who  co-operate  with  the  county  superintendents 
of  schools,  county  agricultural  agents  and  other  local  leaders,  in  giving 
the  membership  the  necessary  follow-up  work  in  the  field,  such  as  holding 
monthly  meetings,  both  in  and  out  of  doors,  visiting  the  club  plats  and  club 
members,  commending  and  instructing  them  as  necessity  demands.  The 
two  most  important  factors  in  these  activities  are  careful  follow-up  work 
and  final  results,  which  has  most  of  its  value,  perhaps,  in  the  business 
estimate,  viz.,  the  net  profit  on  investment.  You  business  men,  I  am  sure, 
agree  with  me  that  every  club  plat  should  be  a  definite  demonstration,  and 
illustration  of  good  business  farming,  and  we  should  have  a  deeper  desire 
than  merely  instructing  the  boy,  giving  him  a  prize  for  achievement,  free 
trips,  and  telling  his  story  through  the  public  press.  It  seems  to  me  that 
the  greatest  good  to  both  the  boy  and  his  agricultural  environment,  is 
when  the  entire  agricultural  community  can  adopt  his  method  of  corn 
farming  safely,  and  at  the  same  time  pay  for  baby's  shoes,  meet  the  grocery 
bills,  and  lift  the  mortgage  on  the  farm. 

It  is  indeed  encouraging  to  see  how  many  of  the  business  men,  grange 
organizations,  commercial  clubs,  federated  women's  clubs,  are  not  only 
giving  of  their  money,  but  of  their  time  and  interest,  in  the  promotion  and 
conduct  of  this  work  in  all  the  states.  Some  of  the  federated  women's 
clubs  have  been  very  active  in  encouraging  the  Girls'  Garden  and  Canning 
Club  work,  to  the  extent,  not  only  of  assisting  in  the  enrollment,  visiting 
the  club  girls  at  work,  raising  prizes  for  their  encouragement,  but  in  actually 
finding  a  market  for  their  canned  products,  which  are  being  sold  all  over 
the  United  States,  under  what  is  known  as  the  4-H  Brand  Club  Label. 
The  object  of  the  label,  of  course,  is  to  standardise  the  products  of  the  club 
members,  and  guarantee  to  the  public  a  sanitary,  high  quality,  and  full 
pack,  and  only  club  members  who  meet  these  requirements  are  entitled 
to  its  use.  In  addition  to  this,  we  have  the  4-H  Brand  Seed  Corn  Label, 
the  4-H  Brand  Seed  Potato  Label,  free  use  of  which  is  offered  to  club 
members  in  these  two  lines  of  work  who  will  meet  the  standardization 
requirements.  These  labels  are  available  to  the  regular  authorized  state, 
district  and  county  agents  who  represent  the  co-operative  work  of  the 
Federal  and  State  Extension  work. 


167 

One  local  secretary  of  a  woman's  club,  when  invited  by  the  state  agent, 
gladly  accepted  the  charge  of  a  group  of  18  girls  in  her  community.  She 
visited  these  girls  on  an  average  of  twice  each  during  the  year,  provided 
the  premiums  and  through  her  local  club  secured  a  market  for  all  of  the 
club  products.  Mrs.  W.  H.  Gilbertson,  wife  of  the  county  agricultural 
agent  in  Sussex  County,  mothered  the  girls'  club  work  in  the  county,  did 
practically  all  the  work  in  the  interest  of  the  girls,  and  one  of  her  girls  was 
a  champion  of  the  state,  in  this  particular  line  of  work  (her  name  was 
Miss  Lucy  F.  Bale)  with  a  production  record  of  nearly  two  ton  of  tomatoes, 
from  a  one-tenth  acre  plat.  Her  net  profit  on  this  piece  of  ground  was 
$70.00.  The  most  important  part  of  her  work,  however,  was  the  work 
with  a  little  portable  home  canner.  Through  this  little  labor-saving  device 
she  was  able  to  transform  the  cheap  product  of  her  garden  into  a  staple 
product,  capable  of  demanding  on  the  markets  of  the  world  a  uniform 
price  throughout  the  entire  year. 

Mrs.  J.  K.  Turner,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  a  well-to-do  and  a  leading 
society  lady  of  that  city,  directed  a  letter  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
and  asked  for  suggestions  as  to  what  she  could  do,  of  a  worth-while  charac- 
ter, for  the  girls  of  Geauga  County,  Ohio,  and  wanted  especially  some 
information  in  regard  to  the  girls'  club  work,  which  she  had  read  about 
in  some  of  the  papers.  She  asked  for  and  insisted  upon  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture  giving  her  definite  help  in  getting  this  new  line 
of  work  started  in  her  county.  She  agreed  to  do  all  of  the  work  of  super- 
vision, organization,  and  encouragement,  and  furnish  a  liberal  amount  of 
prizes  herself,  if  we  would  give  the  initial  instructions  in  home  canning  to 
the  girls,  and  to  furnish  to  them  the  follow-up  instructions  throughout  the 
year.  This  woman,  without  a  dollar  to  reimburse  her  for  several  months 
of  hard  work,  at  considerable  additional  traveling  expense,  as  well  as  the 
expense  of  banquets,  picnics,  receptions,  prizes,  etc.,  organized  a  club  of 
126  girls.  She  not  only  organized  them,  but  visited  every  girl  several  times 
during  the  year,  invited  them  to  her  home,  gave  receptions  to  them, 
and  paid  the  expenses  of  a  free  trip  to  Washington  for  the  four  champions. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Turner  and  their  two  daughters,  Nona  and  Norine,  accom- 
panied the  champions  to  Washington.  Mrs.  Turner  and  her  daughters 
played  the  game  with  the  girls,  from  A  to  Z,  walked  to  the  top  of  Washing- 
ton Monument  with  them,  in  order  that  they  might  understand  more  fully 
the  distance  from  the  base  to  the  top,  as  represented  by  this  Institution. 
I  am  narrating  these  facts  in  order  to  show  you  that  there  are  a  lot  of  people, 
who  not  only  talk  better  agriculture,  believe  in  it,  but  who  are  willing  to 
render  personal  service,  and  spend  considerable  of  their  money  in  this 
regard.  Mrs.  Turner  drew  upon  the  bank  to  the  extent  of  over  $1,200  in 
cash  output  for  the  encouragement  of  this  work.  I  like  folks  who  are 
willing  to  give  of  their  time  and  money  freely  to  a  worthy  cause,  and  I 
want  to  say  right  here,  that  there  are  some  of  your  people  in  Philadelphia 
who  have  spent  a  great  deal  of  money  during  the  past  year  for  the  good 


168 

of  agriculture  in  the  central  East,  and  they  are  to  be  commended  for  this, 
and  congratulated  for  their  liberal  support  of  constructive  agriculture. 

When  we  stop  to  consider,  as  reported  by  Secretary  Houston,  that  at 
the  present  time  only  12  per  cent  of  our  land  in  the  United  States  is  yielding 
in  maximum  production,  and  only  40  per  cent  of  all  of  our  acres  is  being 
farmed  at  all,  and  that  60  per  cent  of  all  the  land  in  this  country  is  practi- 
cally idle,  doing  nothing  for  humanity,  making  no  effort  to  reduce  the  high 
cost  of  living  (a  problem  which  concerns  us  all),  and  represents  a  waste 
in  American  rural  life  which  cannot  be  easily  computed  in  dollars  and  cents, 
and  then  when  we  stop  to  consider  still  farther  that  50  per  cent  of  all  of 
the  fruit  and  vegetables  grown  in  this  country  from  year  to  year  is  wasted 
for  want  of  proper  knowledge  of  grading,  crating  and  marketing  products, 
of  a  sure,  efficient  and  labor-saving  method  of  canning  the  surplus,  and  for 
the  lack  of  appreciation  and  adequate  means  of  refrigeration,  I  am  sure 
that  Dr.  Pennington,  from  our  own  department,  who  has  so  ably  discussed 
the  merits  of  refrigeration,  appreciates  the  fact  that  only  a  very  small  per 
cent  at  best  of  our  people  will  ever  have  available  the  facilities  for  refrig- 
eration work,  and  that  for  the  other  class  of  people  it  is  important  that  we 
offer  them  substitutes  that  will  work,  and  will  help  them  relieve  the  situa- 
tion for  the  present  at  least.  I  know  of  nothing  better  to  offer  at  this  time 
than  this  home  canning  work.  Through  the  Girls'  Garden  and  Canning 
Club  work,  the  people  are  being  taught  to  go  into  orchard,  garden  and  field, 
and  can  the  surplus.  All  kinds  of  fruit,  all  vegetables,  greens,  sweet  corn, 
windfall  apples,  etc.,  can  be  successfully  transformed  into  a  canned  product 
through  this  inexpensive  home-made  or  commercial  portable  outfit,  and 
can  do  the  work  as  well  as  the  commercial  factory.  There  will  be  no  dan- 
ger of  white  mould,  and  the  hard  things  to  can,  like  sweet  corn,  beans,  peas, 
greens,  and  even  meats,  can  be  successfully  put  up  by  the  boys  and  girls, 
ranging  in  age  from  10  to  18  years,  with  definite  success.  These  Httle 
commercial  outfits  are  of  four  distinct  types — the  hot  water  bath,  the  water 
seal,  the  steam  pressure,  and  the  aluminum  presser  cookers.  The  com- 
mercial outfits  cost  all  the  way  from  $3.25  to  $16.00,  according  to  the 
size  and  particular  type  required.  A  child  can  put  up  300  cans  of  tomatoes 
with  one  of  these  little  outfits  in  a  single  day.  An  adult  can  put  up  600 
cans  in  a  single  day.  The  average  cost  of  producing  a  can  of  No.  3 
tomatoes,  including  all  the  items  of  expense,  such  as  labor,  rent  of  land,  cost 
of  cans,  label,  etc.,  is  only  4  cents,  while  this  same  can  with  a  similar  quality 
of  product  will  command  a  price  of  from  10  cents  to  18  cents  a  can. 

Here  is  an  interesting  story  of  a  can  of  tomatoes:  While  in  Colorado 
last  July,  I  visited  a  grocery  and  purchased  of  the  merchant  a  No.  2  can 
of  tomatoes,  and  paid  15  cents  for  it.  I  was  so  interested  in  this  can  of 
tomatoes  that  I  reviewed  carefully  the  label,  made  inquiry  of  the  names 
and  addresses  of  all  of  the  companies,  business  concern,  commission  mer- 
chants, canners  and  growers,  who  had  been  identified  with  its  evolution 
and  migration  from  southern  Maryland  to  this  western  state.     When  I 


169 

had  trailed  it  all  out,  I  found  much  to  my  surprise,  that  this  can  of  tomatoes 
had  been  the  property  in  turn  of  all  of  the  following  concerns:  the  retail 
merchant,  a  jobber  at  Denver,  a  wholesale  house  in  Chicago,  a  wholesale 
house  in  New  York  City,  a  commission  agent,  a  canning  factory  in  southern 
Maryland,  whose  label  appeared  on  the  can,  another  factory  in  Maryland 
who  had  actually  put  the  product  up  in  tin,  and  sold  it  without  a  label, 
and  lastly  the  grower,  who  had  sold  the  product  at  the  rate  of  $8.50  a 
ton.  Now,  I  am  sure  that  you  people,  like  myself,  appreciate  the  fact  that 
we  need,  and  always  will,  a  few  middlemen.  They  are  legitimate,  and  as 
important  as  the  almighty  dollar,  in  the  business  life,  but  when  it  comes  to 
identify  a  whole  bakers'  dozen  of  middlemen  with  one  little  measly, 
insignificant  No.  2  can  of  tomatoes,  it  is  swinging  the  pendulum  too  far, 
and  there  is  no  argument  in  its  defense.  It  is  possible  that  two  of  these 
were  legitimate,  between  producer  and  consumer.  The  rest  of  them  ought 
to  engage  immediately  in  farming,  or  some  other  helpful  line  of  service, 
and  help  this  country  of  ours  to  get  a  square  meal  at  a  reasonable  price. 
This  story  offers  a  definite  argument  for  home  canning  in  every  community. 
If  the  average  cost  of  a  can  is  4  cents  or  less,  and  the  retail  price  is  15  cents, 
you  have  a  middleman's  difference  of  11  cents.  Then  the  child  who  can 
can  300  of  these  cans  in  a  single  day,  can  actually  earn  $33.00  cash  per 
day,  for  every  day  spent  in  eliminating  the  waste  of  orchard,  field  and  gar- 
den. An  adult  working  at  the  rate  of  600  cans  per  day  can  turn  out  a  net 
profit  of  $66.00  cash,  for  each  day  spent  in  this  constructive  line  of  work. 
You  ask,  does  it  pay?  No  one  doubts  the  fact  that  there  are  but  very  few 
average  people  who  are  making  a  better  cash  return  showing  per  day 
than  is  offered  through  this  line  of  work. 

When  I  say  that  children  can  do  all  of  this  canning,  do  it  all  success- 
fully, with  the  saving  of  time,  labor  and  yet  do  it  more  efficiently  and  at 
less  expense  than  has  been  true  in  connection  with  the  old  open  kettle 
method,  practiced  in  most  of  the  homes  throughout  the  country,  some  of 
you  will  necessarily  doubt  the  honesty  of  my  statement,  and  for  this  reason, 
I  regret  that  I  am  not  invited  and  have  not  been  given  time  to  actually 
demonstrate  with  the  outfits  in  the  canning  of  the  various  vegetables  and 
fruits.  My  usual  method  of  demonstrating  the  facts  in  this  home  canning 
work  is  to  bring  the  equipment  before  the  audience,  invite  a  few  of  the 
-little  girls  and  boys  in  the  audience  to  come  forward  and  be  instructed  in 
a  few  moments'  time,  and  then  in  turn  to  demonstrate  how  easy  it  is  to 
perform  the  operations  in  the  canning  of  strawberries,  so  they  will  keep 
flavor,  color  and  texture-;  beans,  peas  and  greens,  so  that  they  will  not  only 
keep  color  and  be  fresh  for  service,  but  will  be  a  part  of  the  balance  ration 
for  every  day  of  the  year,  and  eliminate  the  necessity  of  patent  medicine, 
so  common  in  the  American  home,  and  that  these  same  children  can  learn 
to  successfully  can  sweet  corn  on  the  cob,  by  simply  using  a  little  water  and 
salt,  and  have  fresh  ears  of  corn  for  Christmas  dinner,  to  which  friends 
and  loved  ones  may  be  invited.    This  kind  of  canning  is  usually  done  in  a 


170 

gallon  tin  can,  which  will  hold  from  five  to  one  dozen  ears  of  corn,  per  can, 
and  I  take  it  that  the  average  Pennsylvania  family  is  not  too  large  to  get 
along  very  well  with  one  can  to  the  meal.  Most  of  you  have  come  expect- 
ing to  see  all  the  lantern  slides  to  illustrate  this  work.  Owing  to  the 
lateness  of  the  hour,  I  am  forced  to  leave  out  a  large  number  of  them,  and 
to  leave  much  unsaid,  in  connection  with  those  that  I  use.  My  system  is 
full  of  this  club  work,  and  I  always  regret  that  time  is  too  short  to  get  it 
all  out  and  thus  relieve  my  mental  tension  before  I  leave  the  floor.  My 
first  experience  in  this  line  of  work  was  some  14  years  ago  in  the  State  of 
Iowa,  where  I  had  my  initial  experience,  in  seeing  the  benefits  of  club 
organization  work  with  young  people,  and  its  influence  upon  the  adults 
of  the  community,  and  s'nce  that  time,  I  have  been  doing  more  or  less  of 
this  work  every  year,  and  the  longer  I  work  at  it,  the  more  of  constructive 
value  I  see  in  this  activity  for  a  greater  American  agriculture. 

The  boys  and  girls  during  the  past  year  have  been  at  work  in  at  least 
one  of  the  following  activities:  com  club  work  on  the  acre  basis,  potato 
club  work  on  the  i  or  J  acre  basis,  garden  and  canning  club  work,  vacation 
canning  and  marketing  work,  poultry  clubs,  good  roads,  alfalfa  club,  sugar 
beet  clubs,  etc.  And  then  some  of  them  are  engaged  in  what  may  be  called 
a  pig  club.  My  idea  of  this  line  of  work  is  that  the  best  way  to  organize 
a  pig  club  is  to  grow  an  acre  of  corn  and  raise  a  pig  along  with  it.  Other- 
wise, this  boy's  pig  is  liable  to  ''sponge"  on  some  of  father's  corn  and  feed 
rations.  One  very  important  thing  in  connection  with  this  club  work 
is  to  have  these  children  understand  that  you  are  requiring  of  them  a  busi- 
ness undertaking,  a  job  like  that  of  the  father's,  or  a  man's  job,  and  they 
will  be  proud  of  their  work  and  will  be  glad  to  measure  up  to  your  require- 
ments. The  nearer  we  can  come  to  this  manly  or  womanly  ideal,  the  more 
nearly  we  have  the  enduring  thing  to  offer  the  boys  and  girls.  Some  people 
confine  their  efforts  in  club  activities  which  are  mere  school  exercises  and 
to  the  making  of  a  big  yield,  without  any  regard  to  economic  production, 
and  this  usually  encourages  excessive  use  of  fertilizers,  and  in  many 
instances  the  yield  has  been  made  at  a  loss  rather  than  on  a  net  profit. 
While  in  county  work  in  the  State  of  Iowa,  I  had  one  experience  of  this 
character,  that  taught  me  a  lesson  that  I  shall  not  soon  forget.  The 
champion  boy  with  a  great  big  yield  was  severely  criticised  by  all  of  his 
farmer  neighbors,  because  he  lost  over  $11.60  in  his  business  transaction.- 
One  very  prominent  and  influential  farmer  of  that  same  neighborhood 
came  to  me  and  said,  ''I,  too,  could  make  a  great  big  yield  of  corn,  if  I  did 
not  have  to  pay  for  the  bread  and  butter,  clothing,  schooling  and  general 
expenses  of  my  family,"  and  charged  me  with  the  thought  that  I  had  given 
the  boys  in  the  county  the  improper  ideal,  and  had  hindered  rather  than 
helped  agriculture.  From  that  day  to  this,  I  have  been  talking  and  working 
on  the  other  basis,  viz,  the  business  unit,  and  with  seme  emphasis  on  the 
net  profit  on  investment,  and  I  find  in  this  connection,  that  if  I  wish  to 
secure  the  greatest  benefit  to  the  boy,  culturely,  ethically,  or  even  spiritu- 


171 

ally,  it  can  be  better  done  through  the  latter  method,  than  by  the  shp-shod 
method  of  yield  only.  The  basis  of  award  in  the  corn  club  work,  in  the 
30  states  which  have  federated,  is  based  upon  the  following  points:  yield, 
30  per  cent;  net  profit  on  investment,  30  per  cent;  exhibit  and  quality  of 
products,  20  per  cent;  crop  report  and  story  of  how  I  made  my  crop,  20  per 
cent.  This  standard  was  not  the  one  set  by  the  United  States  Department 
of  Agriculture,  but  unanimously  accepted  by  the  state  leaders  of  all  of 
these  states,  as  the  best  workable  basis,  for  the  good  of  the  boy,  as  well  as 
for  the  good  of  agriculture.  This  will  encourage  the  very  thing  that  will 
be  accepted  and  appreciated  by  both  business  men  and  farmers. 

While  passing  through  an  eastern  town,  not  long  since,  a  friend  of 
mine  hesitated  on  the  street  corner  and  said,  ''Do  you  see  that  group  of 
boys  over  there?  Do  you  notice  that  they  are  all  using  tobacco  in  some 
form?  One  little  boy  about  twelve  years  old  has  a  cigarette  in  his  mouth, 
the  others  either  pipes  or  cigars.  I  cannot  understand  why  every  boj 
in  this  town  seems  to  have  for  his  chief  ambition  the  use  of  tobacco."  I 
said,  ''This  is  easily  understood.  Those  boys  want  to  be  men,  and  it  is  be- 
cause the  men  of  the  community  practically  all  use  tobacco  in  some  form, 
and  they  recognize  at  once  that  one  of  the  easiest  things  they  can  learn 
to  do  that  looks  like  a  man's  job  is  to  smoke  a  pipe  or  learn  to  use  tobacco. 
Get  your  men  to  quit  and  make  it  unmanly,  and  the  boys  will  all  quit, 
without  a  word  of  mouth,  or  special  effort  on  the  part  of  social  workers." 
Understand  I  am  not  endorsing  the  use  of  tobacco,  but  I  am  pointing 
a  general  principle  that  should  be  followed  in  the  teaching  of  girls  and 
boys  industrial  activity.  I  know  what  I  am  talking  about  in  this  regard, 
as  I  once  was  a  boy.  My  father's  personal  friend  was  a  banker,  and  when 
my  father  came  out  of  the  bank,  arm  in  arm  with  this  banker,  both  of 
them  with  cigars  in  their  mouths,  and  both  of  them  were  men  that  I 
believed  in  and  admired,  the  first  germ  of  ''0/i,  to  be  a  man,"  dawned 
upon  me  on  that  particular  day  and  my  first  manly  effort  with  a  cigar 
was  tried  back  of  the  barn.  Sick — yes,  just  a  few  times,  but  what  does 
an  American  boy  care  for  tribulations  of  this  kind  if  it  makes  him  look 
like  a  man,  in  the  end !  And  for  the  encouragement  of  the  boys  present 
may  I  add  that  since  I  became  a  man  I  put  away  childish  things.  And 
since  my  twentieth  year  I  have  never  used  tobacco  in  any  form.  Boys, 
I  want  you  to  take  a  whole  acre,  and  more  if  you  can,  for  next  year, 
and,  like  the  best  farmer  in  your  community,  prove  that  it  is  profitable 
to  grow  corn,  select  seed  corn  from  the  mother  stock,  string  your  seed 
corn  and  market  it  under  the  4-H  Brand  Label. 

I  have  a  notion  to  close  right  here  and  not  show  you  any  more  slides. 
I  have  enough  of  dope  on  slides  and  charts  to  keep  you  here  all  night, 
but  I  want  to  leave  you  in  such  a  way  that  I  may  have  another  invitation 
to  your  gracious  community.  Let  me  urge  that  you  all  together  put  your 
shoulders  to  the  wheels  of  agriculture  and  home  economic  progress  in 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  encourage  the  boys  and  girls  to  enter 


172 

this  work  for  next  year.  The  most  economical,  as  well  as  the  surest  and 
quickest  way,  to  make  of  your  state  a  great  agricultural  as  well  as  a  com- 
mercial state,  is  through  the  boys  and  girls  rather  than  through  the  adults. 
These  young  people  with  a  lifetime  ahead  of  them,  all  of  them  in  need  of 
vocational  guidance  early  in  life,  furnish  for  you  and  your  money  un- 
rivaled opportunities  for  great  service.  In  addition  to  investment  of 
money,  put  into  this  work  some  of  your  personal  service.  After  all,  this 
is  our  greatest  contribution  to  any  line  of  work.  The  Good  Book  says, 
"A  little  child  shall  lead  them."  And  the  truth  of  this  was  very  ably 
illustrated  by  the  child-Christ  at  the  age  of  twelve,  when  He  stood  among 
the  learned  doctors  m  the  Temple.  When  He  was  questioned  b>  His  par- 
ents why  He  had  lingered  behind.  His  prompt  reply  was,  "Wist  ye  not  that 
I  should  be  about  my  Father's  business?"  In  this  statemenc,  He  sounded 
the  serious  message  for  the  boys*  and  girls'  club  work  of  today,  and  He 
Himself  went  about  doing  His  Father's  business  while  but  a  mere  boy. 
In  serving  as  an  apprentice  in  His  father's  carpenter  shop,  carrying  the 
water  from  distant  well  to  his  mother's  kitchen,  hoeing  the  row  in  the 
back  yard  garden,  clearing  the  rubbish  from  the  dooryard,  running  the 
many  errands,  playing  with  the  neighbor  children,  and  doing  the  one 
hundred  and  one  other  things  common  to  child  life.  In  and  through  these 
activities  the  Christ-child  became  the  Christ-man,  equally  trained  in 
head,  heart,  hands  and  health.  A  four-square  training  to  meet  the  four- 
square needs  of  all  time. 

[This  lecture  was  illustrated  by  the  use  of  lantern  slides  and  electric 
chart.    The  conference  then  adjourned  until  10  o'clock  Saturday  morning.] 


BANKERS'  DAY 


Saturday  Morning,  December  6,  1913,  10  o'Clock. 


GENERAL  TOPIC:  ''AGRICULTURAL  CREDIT" 


Mrs.  Smith  :  The  first  matter  that  I  want  to  bring  to  your  attention 
is  a  resolution  put  before  the  management  of  the  conference,  which  I 
think  we  all  feel  interested  in. 

There  has  been  some  trouble  about  the  importation  of  potatoes  into 
this  country.  A  potato  disease  is  raging  in  Europe  and  we  are  anxious  to 
keep  it  out  of  this  country.  Mr.  Calwell  feels  that  for  the  Corn  Exchange 
Bank  and  for  this  conference  to  go  on  record  as  opposed  to  raising  the 
embargo  it  would  express  the  sentiments  of  a  part  of  the  country  on  this 
question.  It  is  a  very  important  thing  to  have  an  embargo  on  the  importa- 
tion of  potatoes  remain  as  it  is.  I  will  just  read  the  resolution  as  it  has 
been  worded.  It  is  open  to  change:  ^'Resolved,  That  the  Agricultural 
Conference  and  the  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank  are  opposed  to  the 
lifting  of  the  embargo  on  the  foreign  potato  importation  now  about 
to  be  discussed  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  in  Washington." 

Mr.  Wescott,  you  are  acquainted  with  produce  lines.  Can  you  tell 
us  why  there  should  be  any  question  of  raising  the  embargo? 

Mr.  Wescott:  I  am  sorry  that  our  information  does  not  relate 
to  the  scientific  aspects  of  this  question.  Coming  from  a  section,  however, 
in  which  the  production  of  potatoes  is  the  chief  industry,  it  would  be  ex- 
tremely disastrous  if  any  other  burden  were  committed  to  the  farmer 
in  the  way  that  would  interfere  with  the  production  of  his  crop. 

It  seems  a  fair  assumption  that  unless  there  were  scientific  probabihty 
of  contagion  through  importation,  the  embargo  would  never  have,  in  the 
first  place,  been  put  upon  the  importation.  That  being  the  case,  it  would 
seem  unwise  to  take  any  chances  that  would  result  seriously,  not  only 
to  producing  sections,  but  to  this  country  at  large  through  the  importation 
of  any  further  potato  disease.  We  are  very  heartily  in  sympathy  with  the 
purpose  of  this  resolution. 

Mrs.  Smith:  Is  there  any  one  who  feels  opposed  to  that?  I  think 
that  most  all  of  us  feel  that  it  is  a  good  thing  to  keep  out.  If  there  is  any 
person  who  would  like  to  say  a  word  why  the  embargo  should  be  lifted, 
we  should  Uke  to  hear  from  him. 

A  Delegate:  Should  not  the  resolution  state  why  it  should  be 
kept  on? 

(173) 


174 

Mrs.  Smith:  The  reason  is  so  well  known,  and  as  the  question  will 
be  in  the  hands  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  it  does  not  seem  worth 
while  to  do  that. 

A  Delegate:  As  I  understand  it,  the  trouble  is  in  potatoes  coming 
from  a  foreign  country  where  they  have  a  disease;  that  the  spread  of  that 
disease  would  be  very  disastrous. 

Mrs.  Smith:  All  those  who  are  in  favor  of  passing  this  resolution 
will  please  say  aye. 

[The  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted.] 

Mrs.  Smith:  If  you  are  willing,  I  propose  that  you  make  a  motion 
that  Mr.  Calwell  appoint  a  delegate  from  this  conference  to  attend  the 
conference  before  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  next  week. 

[A  motion  was  here  made  that  Mr.  Calwell  be  appointed  to  attend 
the  conference  in  Washington,  which  was  duly  seconded.] 

Mrs.  Smith:  It  has  been  moved  and  seconded  that  Mr.  Calwell 
be  appointed  to  attend  the  conference,  and,  if  he  cannot  attend  it  himself, 
that  he  shall  appoint  an  alternate. 

[The  motion  was  unanimously  carried.] 

(At  this  point  brief  addresses  were  made  by  Messrs.  Lord,  Perry  and 
Pearce,  from  the  State  of  Maryland,  outlining  the  splendid  results  achieved 
by  the  Boys'  Corn  Clubs  in  that  section  of  the  country.  The  young  men 
gave  a  practical  demonstration  of  agricultural  work  from  a  scientific  stand- 
point, utilizing  for  this  purpose  a  large  exhibit  of  corn  which  they  had 
brought  to  the  conference.  They  explained  how  heredity  cuts  an  important 
figure  in  successful  corn-growing.  Other  points  that  had  to  do  with  scien- 
tific corn-growing  were  brought  out  by  the  youthful  demonstrators, 
and  received  close  attention.) 

Mrs.  Smith:  I  now  take  pleasure  in  introducing  to  you  Mr.  J.  Clyde 
Marquis,  a  delegate  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia  to  the  American  Com- 
mission on  European  Agricultural  Credits;  and  Associate  Editor  of  The 
Country  Gentleman. 


THE  RELATION    OF    AGRICULTURAL   CREDIT   AND  CO- 
OPERATION TO   THE   COST  OF   FOOD   IN 
PHILADELPHIA. 


By  J.  Clyde  Marquis, 

Delegate  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia  to  the  American  Commission  on  European 
Agricultural  Credits;  Associate  Editor  of  The  Country  Gentleman. 


The  unrest  among  farmers  has  been  gradually  increasing  since  the 
Civil  War,  but  it  was  not  until  the  gro^dng  cost  of  food  aroused  the 
city  consumer  to  the  situation  that  any  widespread  notice  was  taken 
of  the  matter  by  public  men — Congress,  the  legislatures  and  the  pub- 
lic press.  The  agricultural  press  has  been  full  of  the  discussion  for  thirty 
years  and  there  is  nothing  new  about  it  to  those  who  have  been  studying 
agricultural  economics  closely.  The  trouble  has  been  that  until  the 
present  they  have  not  been  heard  by  the  public. 

Pubhc  agitation  broke  out  during  the  Roosevelt  administration 
and  resulted  in  The  Country  Life  Commission,  which  was  the  first  pop- 
ular propaganda  directing  attention  to  our  agricultural  situation.  Then 
David  Lubin  went  a  step  further.  Beheving  that  the  trouble  at  the  bottom 
was  a  financial  one  he  urged  the  Southern  Commercial  Congress  to  lead 
a  delegation  of  state  representatives  abroad  to  see  how^  Europe  had  met 
the  financial  problems  in  similar  situations.  Lubin  must  have  credit 
for  having  secured  the  appointment  of  the  official  Commission,  which 
is  soon  to  report  its  findings  to  the  President  and  to  Congress. 

The  city  man  asks,  what  has  all  this  to  do  with  his  grocery  bills? 
Let  us  analyze  by  stating  a  series  of  facts  that  are  now  generally  accepted 
as    facts : 

1.  Food  costs  have  increased.  The  proofs  are  well  known  to 
every  one. 

2.  The  farmer  has  not  gotten  the  increase  in  profits  which  the 
consumer  has  paid.  Plenty  of  farmers  are  testifying  to  this 
point. 

3.  The  increased  cost  for  services  by  distributing  agencies  in  the 
city  now  increases  the  cost  of  food  over  the  prices  received 
by  the  producer  from  50,  75,  100,  and  in  some  cases  200  per 
cent.  For  the  city  of  Philadelphia  the  proof  has  been  provided 
in  the  investigations  of  Dr.  King,  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, under  the  direction  of  Director  Cooke  of  the  Bureau 
of  Public  Works. 

(175) 


176 

4.  The  cost  of  food  can  only  be  reduced  in  one  of  two  ways: 

(1)  reducing  the  cost  of  marketing. 

(2)  reducing  the  cost  of  production  per  unit  or  increasing 
production,  which  amounts  to  the  same  thing. 

The  cost  of  distribution  must  be  reduced  by 

1.  Eliminating  duplication  and  unnecessary  service,  speculation, 
etc. 

2.  Direct  selling  from  producer  to  consumer. 

To  reduce  production  cost  involves  more  intensive  farming  and  more 
intelligent  farming. 

Intensive  farming  requires  more  working  capital — it  is  primarily 
a  financial  consideration  at  the  outset  because  it  requires 

1.  More  labor  and  the  labor  cost  is  25  to  75  per  cent  of  the 
cost  of  production. 

2.  More  fertility — commercial  or  natural  manures. 

3.  More  equipment  and  higher  grade  management. 

These  improvements  hinge  on  making  more  capital  readily  avail- 
able to  the  farmer  and  of  promoting  educational  enterprises  which  will 
show  him  how  to  improve  his  methods  without  too  great  cost. 

We  can  here  see  the  relation  of  rural  credits  to  co-operation  and  the 
food  problem. 

To  reduce  the  costs  of  distribution  requires  co-operation. 

1.  Co-operation  of  consumer  and  producer  to  eliminate  the  mar- 
keting evils. 

2.  To  introduce  direct  selling. 

What  Europe  Can  Teach  Us. 
The  recent  investigation  and  previous  studies  show  us 

1.  That  Europe  has  solved  some  but  not  all  her  rural  problems. 

2.  Her  experience  is  suggestive  but  her  methods  are  not  wholly 
.     applicable  to  our  conditions. 

European  versus  American  Farm  Production. — Europe  views  agri- 
culture from  the  standpoint  of  total  output  per  acre  and  on  this  basis 
she  greatly  excels  us.  America  has  viewed  agriculture  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  labor  of  the  individual  and  on  this  basis  our  farmers  are 
more   efficient. 

If  the  yield  per  acre  of  all  crops  were  fixed  as  the  standard  of  the 
world  the  average  of  the  United  States  would  be  108  and  for  Belgium 
221,  but  if  we  view  it  from  the  standpoint  of  production  per  person  the 
figures  for  the  United  States  are  1 104  and  Belgium  only  508,  which  means 
that  while  intensified  Belgium  gets  over  twice  what  we  do  per  acre  the 
United  States  gets  over  twice  as  much  production  as  Belgium  per  person, 


177 

which  means  from  the  standpoint  of  the  producer  the  Belgimn  farmer 
is  much  worse  off  than  the  American  farmer  and  is  by  no  means  so  efficient. 

European  farmers  are  regarded  as  a  class,  and  in  many  cases  a  class 
of  limited  rights  and  opportunities.  The  American  farmer  is  a  citizen 
wdth  equal  rights  with  the  consumer  and  cannot  be  controlled  or  forced 
to  adopt   methods  which  will  improve  the  condition  of  the  consumer. 

European  Ideas  are  not  new  to  us.  We  have  successful  co-operative 
creameries,  farmers'  elevators,  breeders'  associations,  fruit  growers' 
associations,  rural  credit  associations,  etc. 

In  America  these  reforms  will  be  brought  about  by  three  agencies: 

1.  National  laws  which  will  give  the  farmers'  assets  standing  in 
the  financial  market. 

2.  A  favorable  attitude  on  the  part  of  banking  interests  toward 
these  assets. 

3.  Co-operation  with  the  consumer. 

National  laws  are  now  underway  and  proposed  reforms  by  the  Fed- 
eral Commission  are  before  Congress. 

Bankers  are  aroused  and  the  present  meeting  is  a  result  of  their 
interest. 

City  and  country  co-operation  is  the  keynote  of  this  talk. 

Philadelphia's  Food  Situation. 

Few  large  American  cities  are  fed  from  nearby  lands.  Philadelphia 
is  particularly  dependent  upon  food-stuffs  coming  from  a  distance.  We 
must  compete  with  other  large  cities,  as  New  York,  Boston,  Baltimore 
and  Washington  for  this  food.  To  get  it  we  must  offer  favorable  markets 
and  market  conditions  such  as  terminal  facilities,  storage,  distributing 
agencies,  etc.  This  phase  of  the  question  is  fully  realized  by  pubUc 
officials  and  is  receiving  constant  attention. 

The  lands  adjacent  to  Philadelphia  are  in  many  respects  not  pro- 
ducing 50  per  cent  of  their  possibilities  and  in  many  cases  nothing  at 
all.     The  city  is  surrounded  by  a  vast  unused  area  only  partially  worked. 

Suburban  values  make  agriculture  unprofitable  in  most  sections 
within  a  radius  of  twenty-five  miles  and  tends  to  check  direct  selling 
by  personal  contact  with  the  consumer  and  producer  in  public  markets. 
Many  cities  have  large  food  producing  sections,  nearby,  notably  Paris. 

Philadelphia  is  dependent  upon 

1.  Encouragement  of  local  production. 

2.  Direct  selling,  via  parcel  post,  express,  trolley,  etc. 
To  encourage  local  production  there  is  needed 

1.  The  improvement  of  surrounding  farms. 

2.  The  encouragement  of  direct  selling,  which  will  give  the 
nearby  producer  the  advantage  and  profit  which  his  location 
should  justify. 


178 

Direct  selling,  aside  from  the  public  market,  is  an  innovation,  un- 
tested, with  many  problems. 

The  farmer  wants  to  know: 

1.  What  the  consumer  wants. 

2.  When  and  how  to  ship  it. 

3.  Who  to  ship  to — dealers  or  private  customers. 

4.  Market  supplies  and  storage  facilities. 

5.  Price  standards. 

The  consumer  wants  to  know: 

1.  What  to  buy. 

2.  When  and  where  to  buy. 

3.  His  obligations  in  direct  selling. 

4.  Prices,  market  surplus  and  production  conditions. 

There  is  no  agency  at  present  that  can  give  the  consumer  this  informa- 
tion. Dr.  King  and  Mr.  Kates  suggested  day  before  yesterday  that  the 
only  possible  solution  of  that  problem  was  to  have  a  municipal  market 
bureau  that  would  give  out  this  information.  It  is  not  an  expensive 
proposition.  Under  the  present  situation,  the  first  step  must  come  from 
the  city.  Then  there  should  be  co-operation  of  the  city  with  the  country. 
The  farmer  is  on  the  defensive  in  this  matter,  because  he  can  sell  out  his 
place.  He  is  doing  it  in  a  great  many  cases.  Why  is  it?  Because  of  this 
unrest.  They  want  to  take  a  chance  of  getting  increased  values.  The  pub- 
lic is  interested  in  the  eastern  farms,  and  getting  close  to  market.  We  are 
building  up  a  generation  of  younger  farmers,  who  will  take  advantage  of 
a  place  near  a  large  city.  We  must  have  the  support  of  the  city  in  better- 
ing these  conditions,  which  will  give  the  farmers  assets  and  credit,  the  same 
as  business  men.  Then  we  must  have  educational  support,  and  direct 
co-operation  of  the  city  with  the  country,  if  we  are  to  develop  food  pro- 
duction in  this  and  in  other  cities. 

Mrs.  Smith:  It  now  gives  me  pleasure  to  introduce  to  you  Dr.  J. 
Russell  Smith,  of  the  Wharton  School,  University  of  Pennsylvania,  who 
will  address  us  on  ''The  Efficiency  Movement  and  the  Farm  Problem." 


THE  EFFICIENCY  MOVEMENT  AND  THE  FARM  PROBLEM. 


By  J.  Russell  Smith, 
Professor  of  Industry,  Wharton  School,  University  of  Pennsylvania. 


Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  Did  any  of  you  ever  see  a  Dane? 
Well,  I  have,  and  I  want  to  tell  you  something  about  him,  and  perhaps 
you  will  agree  with  me  in  it.  It  is  this:  A  Dane  is  no  smarter  than  the 
people  of  Pennsylvania.  Now  I  have  to  admit  right  away  that  I  cannot 
prove  that  by  looking  at  our  agriculture  and  at  his,  for  the  agriculture  of 
the  Dane  is  far  and  away  ahead  of  ours.  Still,  I  believe  we  are  as  smart 
as  he  is,  but  he  has  got  ahead  of  us  agriculturally  in  that  he  has  applied 
the  efficiency  movement  to  crop  production  and  selling.  Dr.  Carver  told 
us  yesterday  morning  how  wonderfully  they  had  succeeded  in  putting  up 
uniform  standardized  packages  of  farm  products  that  the  world  can  trust 
and  gladly  pays  for. 

We  hear  a  great  deal  these  days  about  the  efficiency  movement, 
but  it  thus  far  has  come  almost  entirely  from  manufacturers  and  the  fac- 
tory. It  has  four  great  fields,  however,  in  which  it  must  be  applied.  One 
is  the  factory,  the  second  is  the  farm,  the  third  is  purchasing  and  selling, 
and  the  fourth  may  be  called  community  activity. 

What  is  this  efficiency  movement?  Efficiency  shows  how.  There  is 
a  right  way  and  a  wrong  way,  often  a  great  many  wrong  ways,  to  do 
practically  everything.  The  efficiency  expert  studies,  and  out  of  the  many 
ways  selects  the  best  way.  That  is  all.  Mr.  Frederick  W.  Taylor,  of  this 
city,  well  and  widely  known  as  one  of  the  fathers  of  the  new  efficiency 
movement,  tells  us  the  story  of  the  cleaning  of  an  engine  boiler.  He 
found  it  took  a  lot  of  time  as  ordinarily  done.  He  examined  into  the  proc- 
esses and  found  th-at  men  were  lying  on  their  backs,  in  cramped  and 
awkward  positions,  with  their  tools  disarranged  and  out  of  reach,  getting 
dirt  in  their  eyes,  and  generally  making  a  hand-to-hand  struggle  with  a 
bruising  job.  After  carefully  figuring  out  the  way  it  should  be  done,  he 
printed  long  and  elaborate  instructions  for  the  workmen  to  follow.  He 
made  mattresses  to  lie  on,  so  that  they  could  put  their  energies  into  work 
rather  than  misery.  The  tools  were  arranged  in  orderly  kits  and  the  opera- 
tions were  systematized  and  definitely  arranged  in  series,  with  the  result 
that  a  saving  of  over  two-thirds  of  the  time  resulted.  This  is  typical  of 
thousands  of  cases  that  might  be  mentioned.  Factory  production  is  rapidly 
being  organized  by  the  efficiency  movement,  which  not  only  deals  with  the 
best  way  to  do  particular  jobs,  but  copes  with  the  much  greater  problem 
of  organizing  the  various  units  into  a  harmonious  whole. 

(179) 


ISO 

There  is  an  equally  great  field  for  the  efficiency  expert  on  the  farm. 
Thus  far  most  of  the  scientific  promotion  of  agriculture  has  been  devoted 
to  teaching  farmers  how  to  perform  unit  operations  better.  They  have 
been  told  how  to  select  seed  corn,  how  it  should  be  cultivated,  how  to 
fatten  a  pig,  how  to  spray  an  apple  tree;  but  a  farm  is  a  very  complexly 
organized  group  of  activities,  and  the  problem  of  their  interrelation  is 
well  illustrated  by  the  case  of  Dr.  Spillman's  farm.  Dr.  Spillman,  Chief 
of  the  Bureau  of  Farm  Management  in  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  at 
Washington,  took  an  old  run-down  farm  in  Missouri,  got  some  very  efficient 
units  of  operation,  raised  the  corn  yield  from  20  to  80  bushels  an  acre,  but 
found  he  was  not  making  much  money.  Examination  showed  he  had 
been  so  impressed  with  the  good  unit  of  corn  production  that  he  had  little 
else,  and  therefore  had  a  great  pile  of  work  to  be  done  at  the  time  of  the 
spring  plowing  and  corn  cultivation  and  but  little  the  rest  of  the  year, 
with  the  result  that  the  ten  work  horses  ate  up  most  of  the  profits  of  the 
farm.  By  rearranging  his  crop  system  so  he  had  constant  work  through- 
out most  of  the  year,  the  number  of  horses  was  reduced  from  ten  to  four, 
and,  while  the  output  was  not  increased,  the  profits  were  increased  several 
fold. 

There  is  a  right  way  and  a  wrong  way  to  do  everything.  The  old 
way  used  to  be,  ''get  a  good  man  and  turn  him  loose.  He'll  come  out 
all  right."  This  dependence  on  genius  is  giving  way  before  our  increasing 
faith  in  the  results  of  scientific  work  that  arises  from  the  careful  studying 
out  of  the  best  way  and  then  following  it. 

Just  here  I  want  to  emphasize  the  fact  in  this  agricultural  conference 
that  the  application  of  the  efficiency  movement  to  the  farm  is  more  dif- 
ficult than  the  factory,  for  the  reason  that  the  farm  is  often  a  more  complex 
thing  than  the  factory,  using  a  greater  variety  of  raw  materials,  turning  out 
a  greater  variety  of  products,  and  using  more  sciences..  Furthermore, 
this  complex  and  scientific  task  must  be  carried  on  with  a  small  staff,  and 
subject  to  the  restrictive  operations  of  the  uncontrollable  weather. 

But,  after  the  efficiency  movement  is  applied  to  the  farm,  what's 
going  to  become  of  the  crops?  What  good  does  it  do  us  to  produce  better 
potatoes  if  they  rot  in  the  ground,  or  increase  their  costs  three-fold  in  getting 
to  market?  Our  whole  system  is  full  of  just  such  unadjusted  production 
units.  The  student  of  industrial  history,  for  example,  tells  us  that  in 
Revolutionary  times  the  best  hand-spinner  could  make  two  threads  at  a 
time,  whereas  now  power-driven  machines  enable  one  spinner  alone  to  make 
12,000  threads  at  a  time,  a  six-thousand-fold  increase  over  the  Revolution- 
ary spinner,  but  does  anyone  claim  that  clothing  is  six  thousand  times  as 
abundant?  This  improvement,  while  rather  extreme,  is  suggestive  of 
hundreds  that  have  occurred  in  all  forms  of  manufacture,  and  agriculture  I 
has  not  been  neglected.  A  statistician  for  the  Industrial  Commission 
announces  that  in  1836  the  production  of  a  bushel  of  wheat  required  183 
minutes  of  human  labor,  while  it  required  in  1896  but  ten  minutes,  a  ratio 


181 

of  18  to  1,  but  no  one  claims  that  bread  is  eighteen  times  as  abundant. 
The  truth  of  the  story  is  that  we  have  made  mechanical  improvements 
faster  than  we  have  learned  how  to  use  them.  We  have  the  units,  but  we 
have  not  correlated  them,  and  like  Dr.  Spillman's  farm,  they  are  in  need 
of  readjustment.  I  have  full  faith  that  in  the  near  future  we  will  have  a 
great  increase  of  the  efficiency  movement  which  will  enable  us  to  better 
utilize  so  many  of  our  new  units.  We  have  all  of  the  machinery  for  a 
greatly  cheapened  factory  production,  a  greatly  cheapened  farm  production, 
and  a  greatly  cheapened  carrying  of  the  goods  between  factory  and  home 
and  farm  and  home.    It  is  merely  a  task  of  organization  and  efficiency. 

Transport  and  marketing  afford  us  our  present  greatest  and  most 
monumental  waste.  We  boast  of  the  great  speed  of  modern  transportation, 
but  one  of  its  chief  results  to  date  has  been  to  get  consumers  and  producers 
so  far  apart  that  much  or  most  of  the  crop  is  wasted.  We  have  men  telling 
us  with  good  grounds  that  the  farmer  gets  but  35  cents  of  the  consumer's 
dollar  and  the  goods  the  consumer  gets  for  his  dollar  are  somewhat  deteri- 
orated in  transit.  Here  is  a  great  work  for  the  efficiency  expert.  We  have 
railways  and  trolley  freight,  motor  trucks  and  parcels  post,  and  now  to 
utilize  all  these  things  we  must,  like  the  Dane,  standardize  production 
and  make  marketing  so  honest  that  we  can  buy  a  package  without  looking 
at  it.  We  all  know  what  is  inside  of  a  package  of  Uneeda  Biscuit,  but 
most  of  us  are  afraid  to  trust  an  egg  or  a  barrel  of  apples  until  we  break 
it  open,  after  which  we  take  two  looks  and  a  smell.  A  Philadelphian  now 
needs  to  be  able  to  buy  a  package  of  Chester  County  Farmers'  Association 
eggs  and  be  willing  to  eat  them  with  his  eyes  shut.  We  should  buy  Bucks 
County  Association  sausage  and  scrapple  with  equal  confidence.  We 
should  be  able  to  get  Jersey  beans  in  any  of  our  houses  before  they  have  been 
picked  twenty-four  hours,  and  be  perfectly  sure  of  that  fact.  We  should 
be  able  to  take  a  package  of  oranges  and  apples  from  anywhere  and  know 
that  the  names  on  the  outside  of  them  were  absolutely  correct.  Further- 
more, we  should  be  able  to  do  many  of  these  things  at  wholesale  and  cut 
out  that  wicked  cost  of  the  myriads  of  wasteful  grocers'  wagons  that  are 
fooling  around  the  streets  with  quarter-pecks  and  half-dozens  of  things. 
Two  ladies  of  my  town,  for  one  of  whom  I  have  the  pleasure  of  paying 
bills,  recently  took  three  hours  in  the  city,  and  spent  $62.00  each  for 
groceries.  In  one  hour  and  a  half  they  were  transferred  from  freight  car 
to  the  family  storerooms.  The  whole  operation  actually  took  less  time 
than  would  have  been  consumed  by  the  ordering  of  the  same  amount 
of  goods  piecemeal  by  telephone,  and  the  total  net  savings  for  each  woman 
were  over  $10.00.  We  need  to  put  in  our  cellars  and  pantries  bushels  of 
potatoes  and  know  whether  they  are  mealy  or  soggy,  sacks  of  peanuts, 
sacks  of  pecans,  sacks  of  walnuts,  boxes  of  canned  goods,  and  dried  fruit, 
cases  of  groceries,  etc.  All  these  things  should  of  course  go  straight  from 
the  farmers'  and  manufacturers'  associations  of  producers  to  the  city  and 
country  association  of  consumers,     There  is  no  reason  at  all  why  the 


182 

housekeepers'  league  or  even  a  labor  union  should  not  take  full  carloads  of 
apples  or  potatoes  or  cabbages  or  beans  arranged  in  standard  packages, 
unload  them  at  the  nearest  siding  and  have  them  delivered  direct  to  its 
members  within  three  or  five  hours. 

It  is  evident,  of  course,  that  such  direct  dealings  of  producers  with 
consumers  would  give  better  goods  and  better  prices,  and  thus  very  materi- 
ally reduce  the  cost  of  living.  Naturally  it  can  only  come  about  as  the 
result  of  organization,  organization  for  marketing,  transportation,  and  dis- 
tribution. But  why  should  not  one  of  our  greatest  activities  be  organized 
rather  than  chaotic?  What  excuse  has  chaos  to  continue?  It  is  chaos  that 
helps  make  the  cost  of  living  high.  The  managers  of  factories  have  dis- 
covered that  they  must  study  and  plan  to  use  their  machines  and  tools.  The 
farmer  is  discovering  the  same  thing  in  his  new  movement  for  improved 
farm  management.  Now  the  communities  that  are  wailing  about  the  cost 
of  living  must  discover  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  community  efficiency 
and  we  have  not  got  it  yet.  The  tools  which  the  community  must  use  to 
make  itself  efficient  are  all  the  institutions  and  groups  of  people  among 
us — ^the  banks  and  bankers,  currency,  railroads,  trolley  lines,  postal  service, 
state  experiment  stations,  the  school,  the  college,  commission  men,  the 
store,  co-operative  purchasing  associations,  co-operative  selling  associations. 
All  these  industrial  factors  which  have  been  working  along  independently 
in  a  way  that  is  about  as  orderly  as  a  mob,  must  come  to  work 
together  in  a  new  way,  which  has  the  correlation  of  the  good  baseball  play 
or  the  good  football  play.  We  must  have  organized  activity  and  it  \vill 
be  quite  as  valuable  as  the  work  of  the  man  who  made  two  blades  of  grass 
grow  where  one  grew  before,  because  it  will  save  us  from  wasting  that  second 
blade  of  grass,  which  we  are  now  wasting  most  riotously  and  uselessly. 

Study,  reorganization  and  the  elimination  of  waste  motion  and 
wasted  time  have  marked  the  efficiency  movement  in  manufacture.  They 
must  come  to  the  elements  of  farm  activity  and  to  the  elements  of 
community  activity. 

Whose  business  is  it  to  work  out  community  efficiency?  There's 
the  rub.  As  long  as  it  stays  everybody's  business,  it  is  liable  to  remain 
nobody's  business,  and  the  groans  about  the  cost  of  living  will  continue. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  must  become  the  business  of  the  intelligent  end 
of  every  community.  I  regard  this  conference  being  held  under  the 
auspices  of  a  bank  and  various  public  bodies  as  exceedingly  auspicious,  for 
it  will  serve  to  call  the  attention  of  the  people  who  know  and  have  power 
to  the  fact  that  this  desirable  thing,  like  practically  every  other  desirable 
thing,  can  only  come  as  a  result  of,  and  live  by  the  support  of  intelligent 
public  opinion.  This  intelligence  can  make  itself  felt  through  the  action 
of  the  national  government,  the  state  governments,  county  governments, 
and  numerous  groups  and  associations  of  private  individuals  working 
together  to  promote  efficiency  in  the  service  of  their  members  and  the 
community. 


183 

The  wasters  must  step  aside  and  the  mdustrial  organizer  must  enter 
a  new  field.  His  first  pieces  of  handiwork  promise  to  be  groups  of  people 
buying,  selling,  dealing,  directly  with  each  other  and  rendering  services 
that  individuals  have  heretofore  been  unable  to  achieve. 

Many  desired  reforms  demand  legislation  which  can  only  come  as 
the  result  of  years  of  agitation  and  perhaps  the  making  over  of  the  race. 
The  application  of  the  ejfficiency  movement  merely  demands  sensible  work 
under  existing  law  with  human  beings  that  are  now  here. 

[The  conference  then  adjourned  until  2  p.  m.] 


Saturday,  December  6,  1913,  2  p.  m. 
Ballroom,  Bellevue-Stratford  Hotel. 


ADDRESS. 


By  Charles  S.  Calwell, 
President,  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank,  Philadelphia. 


We  are  here  to  consider  a  new  banking  system.  Not  merely  a  system 
of  getting  deposits  and  making  loans,  but  a  banking  system  of  helpfulness. 
This  movement  is  not  new.  Some  bankers  in  the  West  have  been  very 
active  along  these  lines,  but  here  in  the  East,  until  lately,  we  have  been 
overlooking  the  farmer,  notwithstanding  Pennsylvania  has  the  largest 
rural  population  of  any  state  and  that  there  is  no  better  farming  land 
than  right  here  in  our  four  states. 

We  are  in  this  work  because  we  expect  it  is  going  to  pay  us.  It  is 
going  to  pay  by  increasing  the  prosperity  of  this  section,  but  especially 
it  will  pay  by  helping  to  remove  what  little  prejudice  there  may  exist  against 
banks.  It  does  exist  and  it  will  exist  as  long  as  we  sit  in  our  back  rooms 
and  only  study  credits  and  think  of  schemes  for  increasing  deposits.  We 
have  long  thought  that  a  banker's  duty  was  to  hear  everything  and  say 
nothing.  But  we  have  carried  it  too  far.  We  have  been  straddling  every 
question.  If  a  Democrat  comes  in  we  try  to  think  of  some  Democrat  we 
once  supported.  If  our  customer  is  a  Republican,  we  change  the  subject 
to  the  tariff,  and  to  get  a  banker's  name  on  a  reform  list  requires  action 
by  the  board.  I  don't  believe  in  mixing  in  politics,  but  I  believe  in 
taking  a  decided  stand  on  the  questions  of  the  day,  especially  those 
questions  that  affect  the  general  prosperity.  Banking  business  will  have 
to  be  conducted  in  the  future  on  broader  lines.  By  helping  others  we 
help  ourselves,  and  the  sooner  we  learn  this  the  better  for  all.  Now,  a 
mild  and  inoffensive  way  of  showing  the  public  that  we  are  not  altogether 
selfish  is  to  help  along  this  movement  for  the  bettering  of  agricultural 
conditions.  Just  as  I  think  that  it  will  be  but  a  short  time  before  large 
city  banks  have  on  their  staff  an  engineer  or  efficiency  expert  for  construc- 
tive criticism  of  the  plants  and  methods  of  their  customers,  so  I  think  the 
country  banks  have  just  the  same  opportunity  for  guidance  of  their  custo- 
mers and  their  problems. 

Mr.  Calwell:  I  take  pleasure  in  introducing  Mr.  Harris  from 
Champaign,  Illinois,  who  is  chairman  of  the  Agricultural  Commission 

(X84) 


185 

of  the  American  Bankers'  Association,  and  is  measuring  up  to  this  great 
proposition. 

W.  Irving  Walker:  Before  Mr.  Harris  takes  the  floor,  I  would 
like  to  offer  the  following  resolution:  "A  vote  of  appreciation  is  hereby 
extended  to  the  Com  Exchange  Bank  of  Philadelphia  for  the  inception 
and  assembling  at  the  Commercial  Exchange,  the  exhibit  of  com  of  an 
exceptionally  high  grade  from  the  states  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland, 
Delaware  and  New  Jersey,  believing  that  by  such  exhibit  there  has  been 
an  awakening  of  a  deeper  interest  for  a  greater  and  better  com  production. " 

The  resolution  was  seconded  and  unanimously  adopted. 


ADDRfiSS. 


By  B.  F.  Harris, 
Chairman  of  the  Agricultural  Commission  of  the  American  Bankers'  Association, 

Champaign,  111. 


A  little  less  than  two  years  ago  it  was  my  privilege  to  address  the 
Pennsylvania  Bankers  at  Bedford  Springs,  and  it  is,  indeed,  a  pleasure 
to  be  with  you  again.  While  there  are  four  states  represented  at  this 
conference,  I  presume  Pennsylvania  predominates. 

There  has  been  comparatively  little  trouble  in  getting  the  country 
bankers  to  understand  the  importance  of  this  movement  for  a  better 
agriculture  and  rural  life,  because  the  country  banker  is  in  direct  and 
almost  constant  touch  and  contact  with  the  farmers  and  has  become 
interested  in  the  work. 

The  city  banker  has  shown  some  sympathy,  not  expressed  in  any 
concrete  way,  however,  until  Mr.  Calwell  and  the  Corn  Exchange 
National  Bank  called  this  conference. 

Some  time  after  I  addressed  the  1912  Pennsylvania  Bankers'  Con- 
vention on  the  subject  of  ''The  Banker  and  His  Relation  to  the  Public 
Welfare,"  I  was  pleased  to  see  the  Logan  Trust  Company,  of  this  city, 
exhibit  its  interest  by  printing  a  large  edition  of  that  address  and  spread- 
ing it  broadcast,  with  the  hope  that  it  might  prove  of  some  practical 
benefit. 

Too  much  cannot  be  said  of  President  Calwell's  effort,  because  the 
Corn  Exchange  National  Bank,  over  which  he  presides,  is  the  first  bank 
in  any  large  reserve  city  which  has  shown  any  active  interest  in  this 
movement. 

Speaking  on  behalf  of  the  Agricultural  Commission  of  the  American 
Bankers'  Association  and  the  Conference  of  the  Agricultural  Committees 
of  the  thirty-seven  Bankers'  State  Associations,  I  want  to  express  their 
high  appreciation  of  the  impetus  this  conference  gives  this  movement. 

At  the  conference  yesterday,  a  representative  of  the  Girard  Trust 
Company  of  Philadelphia  demonstrated  that  his  company  was  trying 
to  be  a  real  trustee  in  spirit  and  in  fact,  and  more  especially  as  to  its 
agricultural  trusteeship.  Trying  to  properly  develop  their  farm  properties, 
trying  in  their  capacity  as  trustee  to  build  up  the  farms  and  rural  condi- 
tions as  well.  It  is  wonderfully  encouraging  to  see  such  wholesome  and 
helpful  work,  and  I  am  glad  that  Mr.  Calwell  was  able  to  bring  out  that 
feature  of  trust  company  service  in  this  program. 

(186) 


187 

The  newspapers,  of  course,  are  most  essential  agencies  in  dissemi- 
nating information  as  to  the  work  in  which  we  are  engaged,  and  it  is  a 
pleasure  to  refer  to  them. 

This  morning  I  came  into  Philadelphia;  I  picked  up  a  North  Ameri- 
can and  found  a  two-column  editorial  devoted  to  and  commending  our 
work  and  our  new  magazine — The  Banker-Farmer.  The  newspapers 
have  given  space  to  this  conference,  not  as  much  as  they  should  have 
given,  but  I  believe  the  newspapers  were  taken  unawares,  as  many  of 
the  rest  of  us  were,  for  it  is  an  unheard-of  thing  to  have  a  bank,  and  a  big 
city  bank  at  that,  attempt  such  a  conference  as  that  now  closing.  This 
conference  is  of  great  importance,  as  you  must  realize.  I  have  been  here 
three  days  and  I  don't  know  of  any  meeting,  farm,  conference  or  institute, 
I  have  attended  where  the  program  has  been  so  wide  and  varied,  as  well 
arranged  as  this,  with  relation  to  the  question  of  agriculture  and  rural 
life  in  its  varied  phases. 

After  the  1912  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania  Bankers'  Association, 
when  its  first  Committee  on  Agriculture  was  appointed,  they  showed 
great  interest  in  your  State  Agricultural  College,  and  tried,  as  I  under- 
stand it,  to  get  a  much  larger  appropriation  than  the  $10,000  a  year  ap- 
propriated for  farm  demonstration,  and  to  which  Mr.  Calwell  has  referred. 
As  I  came  down  here  the  other  day,  I  stopped  off  at  State  College  to  see 
what  they  were  doing,  and  Dean  Watts  asked  me  to  speak  to  the  boys 
in  the  agricultural  college.  I  found  in  talking  with  him  that  the  college 
in  1910-11  had  437  young  men  in  attendance.  In  1912-13,  two  years 
later,  this  number  had  grown  to  2,000.  Think  of  that  growth  and  the 
promise  it  offers.  A  five-fold  increase  in  the  last  two  years.  It  is  indica- 
tive of  what  the  bankers  and  business  men  may  help  to  accomplish,  and 
the  Pennsylvania  Bankers'  Association  has  a  great  field  before  it. 

Thirty-six  Bankers'  State  Associations  now  have  committees  on 
agriculture  and  education.  These  committees  are  meeting  in  annual 
conference,  having  met  recently  in  Kansas  City,  your  State  Association 
being  represented  by  Mr.  Stubbs ,  and  Mr.  James,  whose  untimely  death 
we  all  mourn,  was  chairman  of  your  Committee  on  Agriculture,  one  of 
the  best  known  men  in  the  American  Bankers'  Association.  He  was 
substantially  the  author  of  the  new  platform  and  constitution  of  the 
American  Bankers'  Association. 

As  an  outgrowth  of  this  conference  of  the  various  state  bankers' 
associations,  you  have  The  Banker-Farmer  monthly,  some  few  copies  of 
which  have  been  distributed  about  the  room. 

The  Agricultural  Commission  of  the  American  Bankers'  Association 
is  publishing  The  Banker-Farmer  to  review  the  activities  of  the  banker, 
and  his  State  Association  and  Committees,  looking  toward  a  better  agri- 
culture and  rural  life,  not  simply  as  a  matter  of  information,  but  with  the 
idea  that  bankers  will  read  it  with  the  thought  in  mind,  ''In  what  way 
may  I  assist  and  co-operate  in  this  work  of  agricultural  and  rural  life 


188 

development,  and  bring  into  effect  in  my  state  and  my  community  the 
same  sort  of  work." 

Furthermore,  the  conference  has  developed  the  fact  that  one  of  the 
most  important  things  a  state  can  possibly  do  is  to  make  a  soil  survey  of 
the  land  and  promulgate  information  as  to  its  agricultural  possibilities 
and  requirements,  showing  what  sections  of  the  state  are  fitted  for  agri- 
culture and  what  kind  of  agriculture,  and  what  sections  of  the  state  are 
not  so  fitted.  Thereby  the  present  and  prospective  citizens  of  the  state 
may  be  informed,  intelligently  directed,  and  may  not  be  exploited  by 
the  unscrupulous  real  estate  agent  or  otherwise  misled  through  representa- 
tions that  cannot  be  fulfilled. 

Then  as  to  fertilization.  Pennsylvania  spends  eight  or  nine  millions 
of  dollars  in  fertilizers  annually,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  state,  through 
proper  agencies,  to  inform  the  people  as  to  proper  methods  of  fertilization, 
what  method  they  should  use  and  what  they  should  not  use.  Farmers 
in  many  instances  pay  out  large  sums  of  money  for  types  of  fertilizer  they 
do  not  need  or  could  grow  or  buy  cheaper  in  other  forms.  In  other  words, 
we  want  a  system  of  fertilization  calculated  to  serve  the  exact  needs  of  a 
particular  soil,  at  the  least  cost  to  the  farmer,  and  without  injury  to  his 
land. 

Then,  one  of  the  next  most  important  things  is  the  farm  demonstrator. 
The  agricultural  colleges  have  developed  a  remarkable  store  of  informa- 
tion which  does  not  reach  the  farmer,  for  the  colleges  are  not  in  close 
touch  with  the  farmer.  There  has  not,  in  the  past,  been  money  or  method 
of  getting  to  the  farmer  on  the  farm.  Thus  the  county  agent  or  farm 
demonstrator  has  evolved  with  the  idea  that  ultimately  we  will  have 
such  a  man  in  every  county  of  every  state  in  this  union  who  will  go  among 
the  farmers  and  show  them,  right  on  their  farms,  the  newer  methods  of 
agriculture  and  soil  conservation. 

You  have  several  notable  examples  of  this,  notably  in  County  Agent 
Ross,  of  Bedford  County,  who  is  doing  a  great  work  in  his  section,  and 
Dr.  Hurd,  of  Massachusetts,  will  tell  us  in  a  few  moments  details  of  this 
work  in  various  sections  of  the  country. 

And  the  real  achievement  uppermost  in  our  minds  is  improvement 
of  the  country  schools.  We  feel  that  if  not  the  largest  measure,  then  a 
much  larger  measure  of  aid  should  be  given  to  the  country  boys  and  girls, 
to  the  elementary  schools;  to  the  largest  number  of  boys  and  girls  who 
are  in  school  for  a  short  time. 

We  find  in  many  states,  in  my  own  for  example,  300,000  boys  and 
girls  attend  the  country  schools,  90  per  cent  of  them  there  receiving  all 
the  education  they  ever  get,  and  many  of  these  schools  are  poor  enough 
at  best.  We  frequently  penalize  the  country  children  with  schools  a  self- 
respecting  town  would  not  tolerate. 

In  Boston  we  noticed  the  inscription  on  the  facade  of  that  great 
public  library,  ''The  Commonwealth  requires  the  education  of  all  the  people 


189 

as  the  safeguard  of  order  and  liberty."  Yet  we  believe  that  the  emphasis 
should  be  laid  on  efficiency  and  service  for  ''order  and  liberty"  grow  out 
of  efficiency  and  service. 

It  seems  to  me  that  on  the  three  things:  health,  trained  efficiency 
and  the  desire  to  be  of  service,  hang  all  the  laws  of  popular  education  and 
its  regenerative  influence  on  free  government. 

Then,  another  one  of  our  planks  is  that  of  good  roads.  We  have 
talked  to  the  farmer  about  poor  roads,  but  we  have  not  laid  stress  on  the 
social  side;  it  has  been  more  the  matter  of  getting  in  and  out  to  market 
more  readily  and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  Good  roads  are  one  of  the  greatest 
necessities  of  the  country  today,  and  they  lead  in  more  good  directions 
than  we  can  contemplate.  You  of  Pennsylvania,  and  also  of  New  Jersey, 
Delaware  and  Maryland,  are  doing  each  year  more  than  ever  along  this 
important  line  of  public  improvement,  but  much  more  must  be  done. 

We  have  few  good  roads  in  Illinois,  and  you  are  imdoubtedly  ahead 
of  us  in  that  respect. 

Rural  credits  is  another  phase  of  the  farm  situation  which  the  banker 
is  interested  in  improving,  because  we  are  especially  concerned  in  proper 
and  economic  and  remunerative  results  on  the  farm.  If  the  new  currency 
bill  is  what  it  ought  to  be,  it  is  going  to  make  it  possible  to  take  care  of 
the  short-time  credit  needs  of  the  farmer. 

The  other  feature  that  the  currency  bill  can't  take  up  is  the  matter 
of  mortgage  credit.  It  seems  to  me  that  may  be  best  handled  through 
state  legislation,  because  the  requirements  of  the  forty-eight  states  differ 
radically  and  then,  too,  the  various  states  know  their  own  needs  better 
than  the  Federal  Government  knows  them. 

Marketing  and  distribution  is  one  of  the  greatest  problems,  for  mark- 
keting  is  just  as  necessary  to  production  as  is  harvest. 

The  country  town  must  be  maintained  and  made  one  of  the  rural 
centers,  for  farming  is  a  life  as  well  as  an  industry,  and  must  be  built  up 
upon  the  social  as  well  as  the  productive  side. 

This  gives  you  a  brief  outline  of  some  of  the  planks  in  The  Banker- 
Farmer  platform,  some  of  those  with  which  we  are  most  concerned. 
You  know  the  story  of  the  man  who  walked  up  to  the  bank  counter  and 
wanted  to  make  a  loan.  After  various  propositions  had  been  offered  by 
the  would-be  borrower,  the  banker  made  his  answer  short  by  saying, 
*'I  can't  make  the  loan;  circumstances  over  which  I  have  no  control 
prevent  my  making  the  loan."  ''But,"  said  the  would-be  borrower, 
"what  are  those  circumstances?"  and  the  banker  replied,  "Your  circum- 
stances." [Applause.]  That  happens  very  frequently,  and  we  are  apt 
to  look  at  the  agricultural  proposition  in  the  light  that  "We  are  not 
concerned  with  the  farmers'  circumstances." 

We  must,  however,  be  concerned  with  his  circumstances,  and  those 
of  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  this  country,  because  we  are  beginning 
to  remember  that   the  welfare   and  life  of  this   nation  depend  on  the 


190 

well-being  and  prosperity  of  the  average  man,  woman  and  child  in 
the  nation. 

Mr.  Calwell's  splendid  opening  remarks  bore  on  many  of  these 
points  which  we  must  lay  to  heart.  I  want  you  to  have  in  mind,  in  con- 
nection with  what  I  am  saying  on  this  subject,  that  I  was  born  and  bred 
both  a  farmer  and  a  banker,  in  Illinois,  and  I  have  been  exposed  to  both 
propositions  from  my  earliest  days.  Earlier,  I  didn't  appreciate  the 
agricultural  side  as  I  have  later.  Now  a  large  part  of  my  sympathy 
is  on  the  agricultural  side.  I  am  still  in  banking  and  farming,  but  above 
all  things  I  try  to  bear  in  mind  that  man  has  two  great  concerns  in  life, 
one  the  conquest  of  his  environment,  the  other  is  to  express  and  interpret 
what  life  means  to  him.  Most  of  the  bankers  have  gotten  well  along 
in  the  conquest  of  their  environment,  and  they,  more  than  many  others, 
have  the  opportunity  and  leisure  and  the  wherewithal,  and  are  rapidly 
and  happily  beginning,  through  public  welfare  work,  to  express  "what 
life  means  to  them." 

In  other  words,  the  basis  of  banking,  like  the  basis  of  the  rest  of 
life,  is  moral,  not  financial.  We  are  all  beginning  to  realize  we  must 
be  progressive  in  order  to  be  conservative.  It  has  been  my  privilege  to 
attend  many  state  bankers'  conventions,  and  this  spirit  undoubtedly 
prevails  and  grows  amazingly. 

The  greatest  feature  of  this  movement  is  response,  and  the  prompt 
response  that  has  come  to  the  call  for  help  toward  a  better  agriculture  and 
rural  life. 

In  the  fall  of  1914  the  Agricultural  Committees  of  the  State  Associa- 
tions are  to  be  the  guests  of  the  Chicago  Clearing  House,  and  you  will 
see  bankers  there  from  all  sections  of  the  country,  discussing  the  various 
subjects  I  have  referred  to  in  such  a  way  as  to  inspire  any  man  and  the 
believers  in  citiz"enship. 

The  banker  is  misunderstood  in  a  great  many  instances,  yet  if  time 
is  taken  to  properly  consider  his  attitude  he  will  usually  be  found  to 
measure  up  to  all  that  is  for  the  public  welfare. 

The  bankers  in  fine  spirit  are  recognizing  that  the  business  of  banking 
is  not  only  the  business  of  the  banker  but  is  also  the  public  business, 
and  they  demonstrated  that  at  the  recent  currency  conference  in  Chicago. 

The  bankers  for  twenty-five  years  have  wanted  a  new  currency  sys- 
tem, and  have  called  for  it,  and  when  they  called  for  it  the  people  felt 
it  was  something  the  rest  of  the  community  didn't  want. 

As  a  rule,  the  bankers  fear  political  control  as  much  as  the  politicians 
pretend  to  fear  the  bankers  in  the  matter  of  control  of  the  banking  system 
of  the  country. 

The  press  of  the  country  and  the  public  of  this  country  should  feel, 
as  they  really  know  in  their  hearts  if  each  individual  answers  this  question 
honestly,  that  the  banker  in  his  own  community  is  one  of  the  most  trusted 
of  men,  for  the  banker  knows  and  feels  he  must  have  that  community's 


191 

interest  at  heart  and  that  the  prosperity  of  the  community  is  likewise 
that  of  the  banker.  So  it  has  been  an  inspiration  to  me  to  see  the 
response  which  has  come  through  the  bankers  in  behalf  of  this  movement. 

The  Saturday  Evening  Post  some  weeks  since,  referring  to  ''The 
Banker-Farmer  Partnership,"  said,  "Why  stop  at  the  farmers?"  The 
Banker-Farmer  tried  to  answer  that.  I  do  not  believe  the  bankers  of 
this  country  intend  to  stop  there.  Of  course,  we  know  in  any  movement 
in  this  country,  whether  it  be  in  public  or  private  life,  service  rendered 
is  simply  casting  bread  upon  the  waters.  There  is  no  doubt  when  results 
are  brought  to  pass  that  Mr.  Calwell's  efforts  to  do  service  in  this  com- 
munity will  be  realized,  and  you  will  see  the  effect  of  it.  [Applause.] 
In  trj-ing  to  bring  out  the  best  there  is  in  the  soil  and  rural  life,  the  banker 
is  bringing  out  the  best  in  himself.  We  want  to  make  The  Banker-Farmer 
the  Banker-Everybody. 

In  Illinois  we  have  the  reputation  of  being  the  greatest  agricultural 
state  in  the  union.  I  am  not  going  to  advertise  Illinois,  because  that  is  not 
so.  Illinois  is  not  the  greatest  in  actual  results,  but  I  have  some  figures 
on  Pennsylvania  Agricultural  Statistics  which  I  would  like  to  read  to  you. 

In  trying  to  solve  your  farming  problems,  you  may  find  some  light  in 
these  census  figures.  While  the  figures  I  give  you  are  rather  disparaging 
to  Pennsylvania,  yet  perhaps  the  best  way  to  get  Pennsylvania  to  take 
her  proper  place  in  the  agricultm*al  ranks  of  the  North  Central  States  is 
to  read  the  comparative  figures. 

There  are,  of  course,  local  conditions  that  affect  or  in  part  explain 
some  of  these  figures,  but  in  general  they  are  as  accurate  as  such  broadly 
gathered  statistics  may  be,  and  they  are  at  least  sufficiently  correct  to 
unmistakably  show  that  you  are  due  for  a  revival. 

Of  the  nine  North  Atlantic  States  (Connecticut,  Maine,  Massachu- 
setts, New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Rhode 
Island  and  Vermont)  Pennsylvania  has  the  largest  number  of  farms 
(219,295);  has  as  much  or  more  improved  farm  land  than  any  of  these 
states  except  New  York,  while  four  states  average  larger  and  four  smaller 
acreage  per  farm. 

While  Massachusetts  with  her  average  farm  of  77.9  acres,  31.5  acres 
(40  per  cent)  of  which  is  improved;  Pennsylvania's  farms  average  84.8 
acres  with  57.8  (60  per  cent)  improved  acres. 

The  value  of  the  land  in  the  average  farm  in  Massachusetts  and 
Pennsylvania  is  almost  the  same — S2859  and  $2875  respectively,  though 
Massachusetts'  improvements  are  valued  at  $2401  as  against  $1873  in 
Pennsylvania. 

Massachusetts,  however,  leads  all  these  states  in  the  value  of  all 
crops  and  livestock  products  per  improved  acre  with  $51.42;  while  Penn- 
sylvania brings  up  the  rear  with  $22.25  per  improved  acre. 

On  improved  acre  basis,  Pennsylvania's  crops  average  $14.09;  live-stock 
$9.09;  while  Massachusetts'  corresponding  figures  are  $27.44  and  $23.98. 


192 

On  the  basis  of  the  entire  farm,  Pennsylvania  farms  average  4.3 
cows  each  while  Vermont  averages  8.1,  New  York  7. 

In  these  nine  states  Pennsylvania  again  brings  up  the  rear  in  the 
average  farm  value  of  dairy  products  at  $192.22,  while  Massachusetts' 
farms  average  $411.40,  Rhode  Island  $390.39,  New  York  $360.89. 

Pennsylvania  barely  leads  with  an  average  of  4.5  hogs  per  farm, 
while,  for  example,  Iowa  has  34.8,  Florida,  16.2. 

All  the  nine  states,  except  Maine,  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont, 
also  lead  Pennsylvania  in  egg  and  poultry  production  per  farm,  for  Penn- 
sylvania averages  $117.56,  Massachusetts  $251.43  and  Delaware  $166.81. 

In  the  total  value  of  crops  per  farm,  Pennsylvania  with  $760.35 
is  below  all  except  Maine,  New  Hampshire  and  Rhode  Island,  and  really 
below  them  on  basis  of  cultivated  acres. 

More  livestock  and  dairying  would  help  Pennsylvania  farm  incomes 
and  soil. 

We  are  just  beginning  to  practice  in  Illinois  what  Abraham  Lincoln 
suggested  fifty  years  ago.  Abraham  Lincoln  put  it  this  way:  ''Unques- 
tionably it  requires  more  labor  to  produce  fifty  bushels  of  wheat  from 
one  acre  than  ten  bushels  of  wheat  from  one  acre;  but  does  it  require 
more  labor  to  produce  fifty  bushels  from  one  acre  than  from  five?"  In 
other  words,  we  want  to  raise  our  crops  on  fewer  acres  and  devote  the 
balance  to  livestock,  because  in  so  doing  we  are  helping  to  maintain 
the  farm  by  feeding  the  livestock  and  should  thereby  get  two  profits  for 
our  crops. 

The  movement  of  the  banker  in  behalf  of  agriculture  is  not  a  move- 
ment simply  for  productivity,  but  also  to  up-build  the  farm — to  make  life 
on  the  farm  worth  living,  and  unless  we  make  that  life  and  all  its  condi- 
tions what  it  should  be,  we  won't  win  on  the  productive  side.  We  must 
make  the  farm  more  likable.  There  are  two  kinds  of  rural  decay.  We 
have  it  in  various  sections  of  the  country.  One  is  the  kind  that  takes 
place  under  the  ground  that  enriches  the  soil,  and  the  other  takes  place 
on  top  of  the  land  and  impoverishes  the  people.  The  latter  is  the  thing 
the  bankers'  committees  are  fighting  against.  We  feel  that  the  care 
of  the  soil  and  the  care  of  its  caretakers  is  the  most  important  problem 
we  face. 

You  have  been  very  patient,  and  I  wish  to  thank  you  and  congratu- 
late Mr.  Calwell  again  on  this  auspicious  event. 

Mr.  Calwell:  We  are  in  one  of  the  richest  agricultural  sections 
of  the  United  States,  I  understand.  The  last  census  gives  Lancaster 
County  as  the  richest  county  in  the  United  States.  In  money  value  of 
farms,  Chester  County  was  No.  3,  and  Bucks  County  was  No.  5.  Here 
we  are,  right  around  us.     [Applause.] 

When  you  go  over  to  Jersey,  and  down  to  Delaware  and  Maryland, 
all  I  know  is  the  ''Eastern  Shore"  [applause];  the  ground  is  the  best  you 


193 

can  get  for  agricultural  purposes  anywhere  in  the  United  States.  And 
it  is  not  being  developed.  A  banker  told  me  (he  is  not  here  today)  that 
right  in  this  city  he  knew  of  ground  along  the  creek  or  river  that  was 
twenty  feet  deep  in  red  soil  and  nobody  using  it.  He  said  you  could 
get  that  ground  for  $5.00  to  $10.00  per  acre,  and  the  richest  kind  of  soil. 
Why  doesn't  New  Jersey  establish  an  experimental  station  on  that  ground? 
I  think  it  would  tone  up  some  of  these  sections  there  in  South  Jersey. 

We  have  found  in  what  we  have  done  in  this  corn  conference  that 
it  is  hard  to  get  in  touch  with  the  farmer.  He  doesn't  come  to  these 
meetings,  only  half  of  them,  and  he  doesn't  want  to  bother  with  reading 
about  economics  of  the  farm,  so  the  best  way  we  have  heard  of  here  as 
to  reaching  him  is  by  direct  work.  The  ablest  man  I  know  of,  one  of 
the  very  best  in  the  country,  is  a  man  whom  we  have  with  us  here  today, 
Dr.  William  D.  Hurd,  of  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College,  Am- 
herst, Massachusetts.  He  has  gone  into  this  extension  work  right  out  on 
the  farms  and  taught  the  people  how  to  improve  their  farms  and  to  en- 
courage them  in  this  connection. 

Senator  Gore  was  in  attendance  at  this  conference  a  few  days  ago. 
He  said  he  had  just  introduced  a  bill  in  Congress  which  would  authorize  the 
establishing  of  a  farm  bureau  in  every  county  throughout  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania.  That  bill  is  going  to  come  before  Congress.  It  has  already 
been  presented,  and  I  think  Pennsylvania  ought  to  be  very  proud,  and  the 
Pennsylvania  bankers,  and  the  New  Jersey  bankers,  the  Delaware  bankers 
and  Maryland  bankers  should  take  some  interest  in  the  bill,  because  that  is 
the  best  way  of  helping  agriculture,  by  getting  some  one  who  can  go 
out  on  the  farm  and  teach  the  farmer  right  on  his  own  ground  what  he 
ought  to  do. 

I  take  great  pleasure  in  introducing  Dr.  William  D.  Hurd,  who  will 
talk  to  us  on  extension  work. 


THE  STATE  AND  THE  FARMER:  TEACHING  AGRICULTURE 
TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  A  STATE. 


Dr.  William  D.  Hurd, 

Director  of  the  Extension  Service,  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College, 
Amherst,  Mass. 


I  have  come  to  speak  with  some  hesitation.  I  don't  want  anyone  to 
get. the  idea  here  that  I  have  come  to  flaunt  the  work  we  are  doing  in 
Massachusetts,  because  I  realize  in  the  four  states  that  are  represented 
here  today  you  have  agricultural  colleges  which  I  presume  are  doing 
work  of  a  similar  character. 

I  thought  you  folks  would  look  on  agriculture  in  our  state  as  a  joke, 
but  after  Mr.  Harris's  figures  which  he  gave  us  I  think  I  need  not  make 
any  further  reference  to  his  remarks  on  agriculture  on  that  stormy  and 
rock-bound  coast. 

When  the  Honorable  Justin  S.  Morrill  introduced  into  Congress, 
and  Mr.  Lincoln  in  1862  signed  the  bill  bearing  the  former's  name: 
"giving  land  to  support  and  maintain  in  each  state  at  least  one 
college,  where  the  leading  object  should  be,  without  excluding  the  classics 
and  other  scientific  branches,  .  .  .  to  teach  such  branches  of  learning 
as  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  ...  in  order  to 
promote  the  liberal  and  practical  education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the 
several  pursuits  and  professions  of  life"  there  was  no  doubt  in  the  minds 
of  these  men  that  these  colleges  should  make  themselves  useful  to  all  the 
people  who  supported  them  as  well  as  to  the  few  hundred  students  fortu- 
nate enough  to  be  able  to  receive  their  benefits  within  the  walls  of  the 
college  buildings  and  campus  limits. 

For  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  these  colleges  confined  their  efforts 
largely  to  two  lines — the  teaching  of  college  students,  and  research  and 
experimental  work  provided  for  by  subsequent  acts  of  Congress — both 
lines  absolutely  necessary  to  future  agricultural  progress. 

But  as  time  went  on,  economic  conditions  changed  in  this  country. 
A  popular  clamor  was  raised,  demanding  that  the  knowledge  possessed  by 
the  scientists  in  our  colleges  and  the  results  of  the  research  work  of  our 
experiment  stations  should  be  carried  out  by  practical  demonstrations 
to  the  man  on  the  land.  Today  the  great  problem  in  our  agricultural  edu- 
cation is  not  the  teaching  of  college  students,  nor  the  conducting  of  the 
research  work  in  our  scientific  laboratories,  but  rather  the  devising  of 
sane,  dignified  and  systematic  methods  of  extension  teaching  whereby 

(194) 


195 

the  best  scientific  knowledge  and  the  most  improved  farm  practice  may 
be  carried  out  to  the  American  farmer  in  things  that  he  can  see  and  methods 
that  he  can  use. 

The  agricultural  colleges,  then,  are  fulfilling  the  ideals  of  their  founders, 
Mr.  Morrill  and  Mr.  Lincoln,  when  they  teach,  when  they  experiment,  and 
when  they  help  all  the  people  who  support  them  through  the  taxes  which 
they  pay. 

I  have  been  asked  to  tell  you  what  our  college  is  doing  and  the  con- 
tribution it  is  making  toward  building  up  the  agriculture  and  rural  life 
of  our  commonwealth.  In  doing  this  I  make  no  apology  for  the  frequent 
reference  to  our  work.  I  recognize  fully  that  several  other  institutions 
are  doing  a  similar  and  even  greater  work  than  are  we. 

For  lack  of  time  I  say  nothing  about  our  academic  and  research 
work,  but  we  must  recognize  clearly  that  the  latter  is  the  fountain  head 
from  which  we  secure  all  facts  to  be  used  later  in  our  teaching  and  exten- 
sion work. 

I  would  say  in  passing  that  the  organization  of  our  college  is  as  follows : 

1.  Academic.     Four  years.     Graduate. 

2.  Experiment  Station. 

3.  Extension  Service.     All  except  above  mentioned. 
Only  the  briefest  mention  of  our  different  activities  is  possible. 

Like  many  other  colleges,  we  offer  short  winter  courses  for  mature 
men  and  women  who  can  come  to  the  college  only  for  a  short  time.  Hun- 
dreds come  each  year  to  our  ''Annual  Farmers'  Week,"  the  programme  of 
which  is  full  to  overflowing  with  the  newest  ideas  on  agriculture  and 
country  life.  We  teach  apple  packing  and  grading  in  a  special  course  on 
this  subject.  We  try  to  instruct  special  groups  like  the  tree  wardens  of 
the  state,  fertilizer  agents,  seed  dealers,  milk  inspectors,  and  others  by 
offering  courses  especially  adapted  to  their  needs. 

We  hold  annually  a  summer  school,  not  so  much  to  teach  practical 
agriculture  as  to  instruct  and  inspire  rural  clergymen,  librarians,  grange 
officers,  county  Y.  M.  C.  A.  workers,  boards  of  health,  town  officials,  and 
others  who  should  be  the  leaders  in  their  several  communities,  with  the 
new  country  life  movement  in  order  that  they  may  return  to  their  commu- 
nities with  the  knowledge  of  how  a  better  community  life  and  finer  public 
spirit  may  be  brought  about. 

We  bring  boys  from  the  smaller  towns  to  the  college  during  the  summer 
to  an  agricultural  camp  and  teach  them  agriculture,  clean  sportsmanship, 
recreation,  photography,  clean  living  and  other  interesting  things.  By 
this  we  turn  their  attention  to  their  own  towns  and  create  in  them  a  gen- 
uine sympathy  for  these  things.  We  acknowledge,  of  course,  that  many 
country  boys  should  turn  their  attention  cityward.  We  hope,  however, 
to  help  stop  the  general  drift  in  this  direction. 

People  from  all  walks  of  life  gather  at  our  institution  each  summer 
in  conference  to  discuss  problems  of  community  building  and  planning. 


196 

All  over  our  own  and  other  states  we  find  inspired  leaders  carrying  out  the 
suggestions  received  at  our  conferences  in  their  own  towns. 

We  are  not  unmindful  of  the  foreigner  within  our  gates.  We  hold 
each  year,  both  at  the  college  and  in  different  sections  of  our  state,  special 
days  for  the  Poles,  Italians,  Jews  and  Portuguese  who  are  colonizing  certain 
sections.  We  teach  them  English,  civics,  agriculture,  and  strive  to  plant 
in  them  high  ideals  of  what  American  citizenship  should  be. 

We  encourage  all  sorts  of  agricultural  societies  and  organizations 
to  meet  at  the  college  and  arrange  helpful  and  entertaining  programmes 
for  them. 

For  those  who  cannot  come  to  the  college  at  all,  sixteen  correspondence 
courses  in  as  many  agricultural  subjects  are  offered  at  small  cost. 

The  members  of  our  faculty  gave  during  the  past  year  more  than 
500  free  lectures  and  practical  demonstrations.  These  were  given  before 
men's  and  women's  clubs,  granges,  church  societies,  Y.  M.  C.  A.'s,  boards 
of  trade  and  other  organizations.  Courses  having  as  many  as  twenty-six 
lectures  were  given  in  some  communities. 

When  it  is  impossible  for  an  instructor  to  go  for  one  of  these  meet- 
ings, we  send  a  written  lecture  and  a  set  of  lantern  slides. 

In  such  communities  as  may  request  and  where  proper  interest  is 
shown,  we  hold  extension  schools  of  agriculture  and  home-making  lasting 
five  days  each.  Soil  fertility,  dairying,  fruit  growing,  poultry  raising, 
and  home  economics  subjects  are  taken  up.  Ten  exercises  in  each  subject 
allows  of  quite  thorough  instruction  being  given.  It  is  really  a  college 
short  course  transferred  to  communities  all  over  the  state. 

We  do  not  limit  these  schools  to  the  productive  side  alone.  Next 
week  an  extension  school,  devoted  to  problems  of  community  develop- 
ment, is 'to  be  held  in  one  of  our  small  towns.  Such  subjects  as  the  follow- 
ing are  included  in  the  instruction  given: 

Town  planning  for  rural  Massachusetts. 

Methods  of  managing  town  improvement  work. 

Improvement  of  home  grounds. 

Co-operative  buying  and  selling. 

A  new  movement  for  local  taxation. 

Better  methods  of  marketing. 

Law  enforcement. 

New  methods  in  education. 

Labor  saving  appliances  for  the  home. 

Relation  of  right  nutrition  to  general  welfare. 

Making  up  a  community  programme,  and  others. 

We  co-operate  with  steam  railroads  and  trolley  lines  in  the  operation 
of  so-called  "Better  Farming  Trains"  and  believe  these  to  be  an  efficient 
means  of  introducing  farmers  to  adopt  more  up-to-date  methods.  We 
have  pretty  well-defined  plans  for  fitting  up  cars  permanently,  lengthen- 


197 

ing  the  time  of  stop  to  a  half  day  or  day,  instead  of  an  hour  or  two,  and 
going  out  on  these  trips  for  a  month  or  more  at  a  time. 

We  find  that  many  managers  of  agricultural  fairs  are  anxious  to  aban- 
don the  questionable  midway  and  ' 'fakirs'  row"  to  a  large  degree  and  are 
desirous  of  making  these  exhibitions  more  educational  in  their  nature. 
We  have  prepared  extensive  educational  exhibits  and  supplement  these 
by  five  or  six  short  practical  talks  and  demonstrations  each  day.  Our 
men  also  act  as  judges  at  these  fairs,  usually  giving  a  judging  demonstra- 
tion in  connection  with  the  work.  That  this  work  is  appreciated  is  shown 
by  the  eagerness  with  which  our  exhibits  are  sought  by  fair  managers  and 
the  ever  increasing  attendance  at  the  educational  features. 

Massachusetts  is  a  natural  fruit  state  but  our  opportunities  in  this 
direction  have  long  been  neglected.  We  are  trying  to  build  up  the  pro- 
duction of  better  fruit  by  planting  demonstration  orchards  in  all  good 
fruit  sections.  These  are  handled  under  the  direction  of  our  trained  men. 
Spraying,  pruning,  grading  and  packing  meetings,  to  which  the  whole 
neighborhood  is  invited,  are  held  annually.  Thus  the  orchard,  being  a 
practical  demonstration  of  proper  practices,  becomes  the  center  for  the 
dissemination  of  information  on  this  subject  for  that  entire  region.  There 
are,  of  course,  other  activities,  such  as  lectures,  apple  campaigns,  fruit 
shows,  demonstrations,  advice,  etc.,  also  carried  on. 

We  are  trying  to  build  up  the  dairy  industry  of  the  state  by  the  organi- 
zation of  dairy  improvement,  and  community  breeders'  associations,  by 
the  conducting  of  milk  campaigns  in  which  producers,  milk  handlers, 
peddlers  and  consumers  all  come  in  for  a  share  of  the  instruction.  The 
opportunity  of  reaching  large  numbers  through  the  public  schools  is  not 
neglected.  Boys'  stock  judging  contest,  milk  shows,  substantial  prizes 
for  clean  barns,  healthy  animals,  and  the  elimination  of  flies  are  all  a  part 
of  our  programme. 

Two  hundred  and  forty-eight  graduates  and  former  students  of  our 
college  have  banded  themselves  together  into  an  agricultural  improve- 
ment association.  They  pledge  themselves  to  develop  higher  producing 
strains  of  crops  and  animals  and  to  work  for  a  better  rural  life.  High 
grade  strains  of  corn  and  potatoes  are  being  developed  for  seed  purposes; 
pure  bred  animals  are  being  more  generally  introduced. 

We  lack  in  our  state  reliable  information  about  our  agricultural  re- 
sources, present  farm  practices,  costs,  profits,  the  conditions  of  our  schools, 
our  social  life,  etc.  To  secure  this  we  plan  extensive  comprehensive  sur- 
veys which  we  hope  will  in  time  cover  the  entire  state.  Using  the  data 
thus  secured  we  feel  that  we  can  make  pretty  definite  recommendations 
as  to  what  changes  are  needed. 

Efficiency  methods  in  business  management  and  even  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  city  governments  have  been  generally  accepted  as  desirable. 
Rural  communities  are  still  plodding  along  in  well-beaten  paths  of  past 
years.     Through  our  community  service  work  towns  are  advised,  after  a 


198 

careful  examination  has  been  made  by  our  experts,  as  to  what  their  needs 
are.  The  people  themselves  usually  set  about  by  means  of  committees 
to  study  the  agricultural,  educational,  civic,  transportation,  recreative, 
and  religious  needs  of  their  own  communities.  I  have  time  to  give  you 
the  results  in  only  one  community  where  such  a  movement  has  taken 
place.  The  farmers  have  co-operated  in  buying  fertilizers,  feed  stuffs, 
spraying  materials,  and  in  selling  their  fruit,  thus  saving  money  at  both 
ends  of  the  transaction.  Appropriations  have  been  increased  for  roads. 
Experts  have  been  called  in  to  advise  them  as  to  how  the  schools  may  be 
improved,  landscape  architects  have  advised  them  on  town  beautification, 
and  two  struggling  churches  have  decided  to  unite  into  one  strong,  useful 
body.  Petty  jealousies  have  been  wiped  out,  and  there  is  a  ''get-together" 
spirit  in  that  community  which  has  not  been  known  there  for  generations. 

We  teach  agriculture  to  more  than  20,000  boys  and  girls  through 
'corn,  potato,  tomato  canning  and  poultry  clubs,  each  year.  Trips  to 
Washington,  Boston,  and  the  college  furnish  ample  reward  to  the  state 
winners.  Girls  performing  household  duties  are  in  the  future  to  have  the 
same  opportunities  in  this  competition  as  their  brothers  who  are  in  the 
crop  and  poultry  contests.  This  club  work  has  well  been  called  "the 
kindergarten  of  agriculture."  Surely  it  will  have  a  greater  tendency  to 
interest  boys  and  girls  in  plants,  animals  and  things  agricultural  than  any 
other  movement  that  has  yet  been  started. 

In  co-operation  with  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  we  make  farm  management  field  studies  and 
investigations.  Farm  records,  showing  profitable  and  unprofitable  enter- 
prises, labor  income,  etc.,  are  taken;  accounting  systems  are  introduced; 
farms  are  reorganized;  advice  is  given  as  to  equipment,  buildings,  cropping 
systems,  rotations,  etc. 

We  have  a  demonstration  auto  truck  equipped  with  spraying  appara- 
tus, pruning  tools,  dairy  appliances,  stereopticon  and  slides,  books,  pam- 
phlets and  other  appliances,  in  charge  of  a  competent  demonstrator.  This 
man  goes,  from  town  to  town  meeting  small  groups  of  farmers  for  confer- 
ences, and  then  visiting  individual  farms  to  demonstrate  any  of  the  things 
on  which  information  is  desired.  This  is  the  most  effective  means  of 
getting  close  to  the  individual  farmer  that  we  have  yet  tried. 

In  all  of  this  practical  instruction  of  the  farmer  we  are  not  overlooking 
the  farmer's  wife,  his  daughter,  or  the  problems  of  the  home.  The  bal- 
anced ration  for  the  family  is  now  to  receive  as  much  attention  as  the 
balanced  ration  for  the  cow.  Our  instructors  in  home  economics  and 
domestic  science  work  through  the  granges,  women's  clubs,  extension 
schools,  teachers'  associations,  and  other  organizations  for  women,  giving 
instruction  in  problems  of  food,  sanitation,  labor  saving  equipment,  home 
beautification,  textiles,  clothing,  etc. 

One  of  our  recent  developments  is  the  taking  on  of  a  man  trained  in 
landscape  architecture  and  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  civic  improve- 


199 

ment  spirit.  He  goes  to  towns  where  he  is  invited  and  assists  in  town 
planning  projects,  the  beautification  of  the  town  commons,  the  planning 
of  school  and  church  grounds,  the  care  of  cemeteries,  home  improvement, 
the  acquiring  of  land  for  play  grounds,  and  other  things  of  this  nature. 

We  assist  the  smaller  libraries  of  our  state  to  develop  the  habit  of 
reading  agricultural  literature  by  loaning  them  for  certain  periods  of  time 
traveling  libraries  of  from  ten  to  forty  of  the  latest  and  best  books  on 
rural  life  subjects. 

We  believe  thoroughly  in  the  value  of  demonstration  plots  placed  out 
on  farms  operated  by  the  owners  all  over  the  state.  Every  year  we  have 
a  large  number  of  these  showing  the  results  to  be  gained  from  the  proper 
use  of  fertilizers,  high  grade  seeds,  rotations,  pasture  renovation,  etc.  We 
are  also  placing  alfalfa  plots  out  in  a  similar  way.  The  best  demonstra- 
tion farm,  in  our  judgment,  is  one  operated  by  a  man  who  can  show  a  profit 
from  his  labor  and  management. 

We  are  co-operating  with  boards  of  trade  and  other  organizations  in 
the  placing  and  maintaining  of  county  agricultural  advisers  or  representa- 
tives. We  believe  that  these  trained  men,  confining  their  work  to  a  rela- 
tively small  area,  becoming  personally  and  intimately  acquainted  with  the 
farmers  of  their  territory,  and  demonstrating  to  them  better  farm  prac- 
tices, advising  them  in  problems  of  farm  management  and  marketing, 
and  bringing  into  each  county  for  the  building  up  of  the  agriculture  and 
rural  life  of  that  county  all  the  help  that  can  be  obtained  from  the 
state  college,  the  other  agencies  created  in  the  state  for  purposes  of  fur- 
thering agricultural  growth,  and  the  United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, are  to  be  mighty  factors  in  accomplishing  the  exceedingly  difficult 
task  of  reaching  the  last  farmer  on  the  last  farm  in  any  region. 

If  you  do  not  think  that  there  is  a  live  interest  in  this  county  work 
movement  in  our  state,  I  wish  you  might  have  been  with  me  last  night 
at  a  dinner  of  three  hundred  of  Springfield's  largest  and  most  influential 
business  men.  They  sat  for  nearly  six  hours  and  talked  over  in  a  most 
interesting  and  intimate  sort  of  way  the  things  they  might  do  for  develop- 
ing the  rural  life  of  Hampden  County. 

We  attempt  to  instruct  the  poultrymen,  the  beekeepers,  the  flori- 
culturists, the  market  gardeners  of  our  state  in  the  same  manner  as  we  do 
the  dairymen,  the  orchardists,  or  the  general  farmers. 

We  publish  popular,  yet  reliable,  leaflets  and  bulletins  in  large  numbers. 

Within  a  month  we  shall  have  a  man  in  the  field  helping  to  organize 
farmers'  co-operative  organizations  for  purchase  and  sale,  giving  assistance 
to  farmers  in  marketing  and  along  rural  credit  lines. 

We  help  thousands  by  personal  conferences,  farm  visits,  and  letters 
each  year.  In  fact  our  statistics  show  that  we  definitely  and  directly 
reached  more  than  300,000  people  in  our  state  during  the  past  year,  and  of 
course  there  is  no  way  of  estimating  those  who  were  indirectly  touched 
or  influenced. 


200 

I  want  to  impress  you  with  this  fact,  that  we  are  not  one-sided  in  our 
work,  but  touch  the  production  side  of  farming,  the  problems  of  marketing 
and  transportation,  the  community  problems,  and  the  home  problems  alike. 

You  may  ask,  how  are  we  able  to  do  this? 

We  do  it  by  the  employment  of  persons  who  by  temperament,  scientific 
training,  practical  experience,  and  personality  are  able  to  instruct  the 
farmer,  the  business  man,  and  the  professional  man  in  our  state.  These 
extension  instructors  work  in  close  touch  with,  and  in  perfect  harmony  with 
the  teachers  of  our  college  and  the  research  men  of  our  experiment  station. 
At  present  there  are  twenty  giving  full  time  and  three  or  four  part  time  in 
the  work.  In  fact,  the  Extension  Service  of  our  institution  is  the  whole 
college  at  work  throughout  the  state. 

We  do  not  accomplish  this  work  by  creating  new  organizations;  we 
work  through  granges,  boards  of  trade,  men's  and  women's  clubs,  with 
the  State  Boards  of  Agriculture,  Education  and  Health,  and  other  state- 
wide agencies,  in  fact  with  any  organizations  that  will  join  with  us  un- 
selfishly in  building  up  the  agriculture  and  rural  life  of  our  commonwealth. 
By  this  means  all  organizations  are  enlisted  in  a  state-wide  movement  and 
campaign  for  rural  progress.  We  have,  in  fact,  a  federation  of  thirty  of 
the  agricultural  organizations  in  our  state  getting  behind  all  desirable 
movements  at  the  present  time,  and  "squelching"  others  not  so  desirable. 
This  getting  together  is  absolutely  necessary,  else  waste  of  energy,  money, 
and  misunderstanding,  jealousies,  cross-purposes,  and  lack  of  harmony 
will  evidently  result.  We  do  all  this,  too,  without  sacrificing  any  educa- 
tional ideals,  or  interference  with  the  academic  work  of  our  institution. 

I  realize  perhaps  more  than  you  do  that  I  have  given  a  very  feeble  and 
inadequate  description  of  our  work,  but  it  would  have  taken  hours  to  tell 
you  all.  This  whole  movement  with  us  is  the  social  service  spirit  applied 
to  rural  work. 

You  may  raise  this  question :  Why  should  all  of  this  effort  he  made  in 
behalf  of  agriculture  at  the  present  time?  There  are  many  good  reasons. 
It  is  no  longer  a  pretty  saying — a  mere  platitude — that  agriculture  is  the 
foundation  of  our  national  prosperity.  The  fact  is  being  driven  home 
to  us  on  every  side  by  the  acuteness  of  economic  conditions. 

We  now  consume  91  per  cent  of  our  wheat. 

We  now  consume  98  per  cent  of  our  corn. 

The  decline  in  our  exports  of  cattle  in  the  last  five  years  has  been 
75  per  cent. 

The  increase  in  importation  of  cattle  has  been  2000  per  cent  in  six 
years. 

Our  average  yield  of  wheat  per  acre  is  14  bushels;  the  farm  average 
of  western  Europe  is  32  bushels.  This  comparison  is  not  at  all  to  our 
credit. 

This  nation  is  facing  the  question  of  what  we  are  going  to  eat  in  1963, 
when  our  population  reaches  200,000,000  ^s  it  undoubtedly  will, 


201 

City  and  country  dwellers  alike  have  come  to  a  keen  realization  that 
the  agricultural  problem  is  neither  sectional  nor  territorial  in  its  impor- 
tance. We  in  Massachusetts  grow  neither  beef,  wool,  wheat,  nor  cotton 
in  any  quantity  and  yet  our  very  existence,  in  fact  our  continued  prosperity, 
depends  almost  entirely  on  knowing  that  some  one,  somewhere,  is  interested 
in  the  production  of  these  great  staple  products  on  which  we  are  so  de- 
pendent. 

James  J.  Hill,  among  other  great  leaders  in  industrial  development, 
has  repeatedly  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  products  of  the  sea, 
the  forest  and  the  mines  are  fast  being  exhausted,  and  in  a  virile  convin- 
cing way  refers  to  the  soil  as  the  one  permanent  resource,  and  he  raises 
the  question  as  to  what  we  are  going  to  do  with  it  in  the  future. 

Despite  all  the  teachings  of  our  colleges,  the  work  of  our  experiment 
stations,  the  publicity  and  instruction  given  through  the  agricultural 
press,  and  the  great  work  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
3^et  we  face  the  fact  today  that  the  yield  per  acre  of  all  of  our  great  staple 
crops  has  not  increased  materially  during  the  last  forty  years. 

So  I  think  I  was  justified  in  the  outset  when  I  contended  that  the 
greatest  problem  in  agricultural  education  and  in  American  agriculture 
today  is  the  instruction  of  the  farmer  who  is  now  living  on  the  land.  This 
must  be  by  a  positive,  direct,  speedy  process.  Information  must  be  carried 
to  him  by  persons  especially  fitted  for  the  task  and  by  the  best  demon- 
stration methods. 

The  principal  agency  from  which  all  this  work  should  radiate  in  a 
state  is  the  state  college  of  agriculture.  Land,  buildings,  equipment, 
men,  laboratories,  etc.,  have  been  placed  there  at  great  expense.  These 
institutions  should  be  public  service  institutions.  Their  worth  and  use- 
fulness to  a  pretty  large  degree  should  be  measured  by  the  service  they 
render  to  the  people  who  foster  and  support  them.  We  have  tried  to 
make  our  college  such  a  public  service  institution. 

No  man  in  a  community  is  more  interested  in  general  prosperity 

than  a  banker.     When  farmers  are  not  prosperous  then  bankers  cannot 

be.     When  a  farmer  is  charged  high  rates  of  interest  or  is  not  given  fair 

^-credit  accommodations  he  is  made  poorer.     The  farmer's  interest  is  the 

banker's  interest. 

Bankers  may  well  interest  themselves  in,  and  become  familiar  with 
the  soil,  crops,  prevailing  farm  practices,  and  agricultural  resources  of  the 
region  in  which  they  live.  Farmers  may  well  consult  bankers  on  ques- 
tions of  investments,  exchange,  markets,  etc.  This  interchange  of  informa- 
tion will  be  more  than  mutually  agreeable.  Bankers  must  surely  have  the 
confidence  of  farmers. 

There  is  much  "frenzied"  talk  about  farm  finance  at  present.  Many 
schemes,  most  of  which  are  probably  unworkable,  are  in  the  air.  Per- 
sonally, I  do  not  believe  we  need  a  system  of  credit  for  our  American 
farmers  based  on  that  necessary  for  the  peasant  farmers  of  Europe.    It's 


202 

a  safe  proposition  for  you  to  make  long  term  loans  to  farmers  on  the  amor- 
tization plan,  as  suggested  by  Mr.  Harris  of  Champaign,  111.,  Mr.  Wood- 
ruff of  Joliet,  111.,  and  others,  and  this  would  help  the  farmers  immensely. 
I  do  not  think  that  you  as  bankers  should  be  asked  to  loan  money  to 
farmers  on  any  different  basis  than  to  other  business  men.  Give  him  the 
same  chance  as  you  do  the  man  on  the  street — he  hasn't  had  this  up  to  the 
present  time.  The  shiftless  farmer  should  be  treated  in  the  same  way  by 
you  as  a  business  man  in  the  town  who  in  your  estimation  is  not  making 
good.  You  ought  to  remember,  however,  that  some  one  must  carry  the 
farmer  over  from  seed  time  to  harvest,  and  that  the  crying  need  on  most 
farms  is  just  a  few  hundred  dollars  more  working  capital  each  year. 

The  matter  of  proper  farmers'  organizations  to  secure  credit  can  be 
made  a  simple  one.  Ten  of  fifteen  farmers  of  a  community  might  join 
forces,  declare  their  total  assets,  incorporate  with  a  limited  capital  stock, 
and  mutually  agree  to  back  each  individual  of  the  group  for  a  loan  up  to 
a  certain  limit.  This  would  be  safe  for  you.  Could  anything  be  easier 
for  them? 

Individual  bankers  and  the  banking  associations  of  Wisconsin,  Minne- 
sota, Illinois  and  other  middle  western  states  are  behind  the  farmers  of  that 
region.  They  support  contests  for  boys;  they  are  helping  to  secure  larger 
appropriations  for  schools  and  colleges;  they  are  contributing  toward  the 
support  of  county  agents;  they  help  secure  legislation  for  better  roads;  and 
in  many  other  ways. 

Some  one  at  the  recent  Bankers'  Association  meeting  in  Boston  said 
that  the  products  of  the  American  farms  amounted  to  ten  billions  of  dol- 
lars, and  that  this  was  an  amount  greater  than  had  been  secured  from 
the  gold  mines  of  the  world  in  the  last  twenty-five  years.  So  you  see  that 
in  assuming  this  interest  you  are  dealing  with  a  subject  of  no  mean  pro- 
portions. 

You  men  here  in  this  great  commercial  and  industrial  metropolis, 
representing  the  banking  interests  of  the  state,  can  do  nothing  better  for 
yourselves,  your  families  or  your  nation  than  to  get  behind  this  move- 
ment here  in  the  East  and  lend  your  thought,  influence  and  best  efforts 
to  the  support  of  the  agencies  which  have  for  their  aim  the  building  up 
of  our  eastern  agricultural  and  rural  life. 

Mr.  Calwell:  It  has  been  the  custom  at  these  meetings  to  have 
discussions.  Dr.  Hurd's  paper  emphasizes  many  things  on  the  subject  he 
has  addressed  us,  as  to  the  different  lines  of  work  for  the  farmer,  and  for 
college  men,  and  if  there  are  any  questions  to  be  asked  Dr.  Hurd  will  no 
doubt  gladly  answer  them. 

I  would  like  to  ask  Dr.  Hurd  if  he  knows  how  much  is  appropriated 
by  the  State  of  Massachusetts  to  his  college  for  extension  work. 

Dr.  William  D.  Hurd:  Our  extension  work  has  been  organized 
four  years.     The  first  year's  appropriation  was  $10,000,  the  second  year 


203 

$15,000,  the  next  year  $50,000,  and  now  we  have  $50,000  appropriated  by 
the  state  for  this  work. 

Mk.  Calwell:  Pennsylvania  has  $10,000  appropriated  for  this 
same  work.  The  paper  Dr.  Hurd  has  just  read  to  us  is  gouig  to  be  pub- 
Hshed,  and  there  is  enough  in  that  paper  to  keep  us  bankers  busy  for  the 
next  five  or  ten  years. 

The  raising  of  crops  is  not  the  only  thing,  the  increase  of  crops  is  not 
the  only  thing.     They  must  be  marketed. 

One  of  the  greatest  successes  of  the  country  is  the  forming  of  these 
farmers'  exchanges  in  different  sections,  to  collect  goods  and  ship  them 
into  the  stations  in  carload  lots. 

One  of  the  most  successful  of  these  exchanges  has  been  formed  down 
m  Virginia,  and  we  have  with  us  Mr.  N.  P.  Wescott  of  the  Eastern  Shore 
of  Virginia  Produce  Exchange.  Mr.  Wescott  is  very  well  known  through- 
out agricultural  sections  as  one  of  the  leaders  in  this  movement. 

Mr.  Wescott  will  now  address  you. 


THE  WORK  OF  A  PRODUCE  EXCHANGE. 


By  N.  p.  Wescott, 
Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia  Produce  Exchange,  Onley,  Va. 


Farming,  today  and  in  this  country,  is  fundamentally  a  business — a 
method  of  making  a  living.  There  are  persons  who  live  on  farms  and  who, 
more  or  less  by  proxy,  conduct  farm  enterprises,  by  reason  of  a  purely 
intellectual  interest  in  the  processes  involved,  or  of  a  real  or  imagined  taste 
for  the  much-advertised  delights  of  country  life,  or  a  pride  of  proprietor- 
ship, or  from  other  motives  unmixed  with  economic  necessity.  But  these 
fortunate  individuals  are  not  farmers;  they  are  only  ''gentlemen-farmers." 
The  true  farmer  farms  not  for  love  but  money — and  gets  his  poetry  else- 
where. Whether  he  stays  and  works  the  farm  of  his  fathers  or  whether  he 
abandons  the  rear  end  of  the  plow  for  the  front  deck  of  a  trolley  car,  it's 
because  he  can — or  thinks  he  can — earn  more  that  way;  and  whether  he 
sows  wheat,  plants  cotton  or  beds  sweet  potatoes,  the  ultimate  crop  he 
hopes  to  harvest  is  one  of  dollars  and  cents,  and  the  exact  measure  of  his 
success  is  the  amount  of  his  net  profits  at  the  end  of  the  year.  Moreover, 
after  a  boyhood  on  the  farm  and  an  experience  of  four  years  in  working 
for  some  three  thousand  farmers,  I  shamelessly  make  the  sordid  assertion 
that  profitable  farming  is  profitable  farming,  and^ — ^Horace's  celebrated 
catalogue  of  delights  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding — that  it  is  the  only 
pleasant  kind. 

From  this  it  follows  that  the  basic  factor  in  the  problem  of  the  farmer's 
welfare  is  the  economic  factor,  and  that  in  any  thoroughgoing  effort 
to  improve  the  condition  and  promote  the  happiness  of  the  farmer  the 
question  of  profitableness  demands  first  consideration  and  offers  logically 
the  best  ground  of  attack.  In  attacking  this  problem,  great  stress  has 
been  laid  upon  the  obvious  and  visible  fault  of  unscientific  methods  of 
production;  everywhere  we  now  see  experts  at  work  teaching  the  farmer 
how  to  make  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  one  grew  before.  But  there 
is  a  more  insidious  fault— one  less  apparent  but  equally  destructive  of 
the  farmer's  fair  measure  of  prosperity — which  has  been,  I  believe,  not 
fully  appreciated  or  even  clearly  perceived — and  certainly  not  sufficiently 
attended  to.  Of  what  use  to  the  farmer  is  the  product  in  beef  or  grain 
of  the  two  blades  of  grass  if  it  have  not  a  ready  and  profitable  market? 
As  a  matter  of  actual  experience,  the  farmer  with  a  doubled  output,  ex- 
ceeding the  normal  demand  or  overflowing  the  usual  channels  of  distribu- 
tion, frequently  finds  that  the  very  bounteousness  of  his  harvest  spells 
disaster;  for  the  tolls  levied  by  the  various  agencies  of  distribution  are, 
in  general,  fixed  charges,  at  so  much  per  unit,  and  with  even  a  slight  de- 

(204) 


205 

cline  in  gross  price  consequent  upon  increased  production  the  farmer *s 
margin  of  profit  may  entirely  vanish.  In  short,  for  present-day  agricul- 
ture, the  problems  of  distribution  are  just  as  vital  as  those  of  production; 
if  the  farmer  would  succeed,  efficient  salesmanship  is  just  as  essential  as 
the  maintenance  of  soil  fertility.  Yet  the  farmer,  alone  among  modern 
producers,  is  prone  to  ignore  this  matter  of  selling;  and  in  this  age  of  highly 
specialized  and  elaborate  salesmanship  in  all  other  industries  and  of  in- 
creasingly scientific  production,  in  his  own,  we  still  find  him  in  many  com- 
munities pouring  out  his  goods  blindly  into  the  hands  of  the  commission 
merchant  or  bargaining  them  off  at  random  to  some  local  speculator  in 
the  same  primitive  manner  that  has  come  down  to  him  from  the  days 
when  Joseph  and  his  brethren  bartered  the  surplus  products  of  their  crude 
husbandry  for  the  cloths  and  spices  of  the  Egyptians. 

How  then  are  these  forces  of  aggressive  salesmanship,  based  upon 
a  searching  and  enlightened  knowledge  of  national  market  conditions,  to  be 
made  a  part  of  the  enterprise  of  the  farmer?  Individually  he  lacks  the 
time,  the  capital,  the  commercial  experience,  and  in  general  the  business 
capacity  necessary  to  provide  them;  and  even  were  these  requisites  present, 
he  would  be  helpless  acting  alone  among  a  multitude  of  fellow-producers 
whose  disposal  of  their  products  must  restrict  within  narrow  limits  the 
market  value  of  his  own.  Obviously,  then,  the  true  solution  lies  in  co- 
operation— in  the  union  in  this  matter  of  marketing  of  a  great  number  of 
small  producers  whose  combined  output  will  entitle  them  to  take  rank 
with  modern  business  enterprises  in  other  fields  of  industry  and  whose 
united  strength  will  enable  them  to  provide  at  a  cost  which  falls  lightly 
upon  the  individual  the  necessary  elements  of  expert  salesmanship,  capable 
business  management,  constant  market  information,  and  vigorous  culti- 
vation of  the  available  selling  field.  To  the  adoption  of  that  plan  there 
has  been  one  great  obstacle :  the  stiff-necked  individualism  of  the  American 
farmer.  He  doesn't  take  kindly  to  the  restraints  and  sacrifices  of  co-opera- 
tion. There  is  too  much  of  Robinson  Crusoe  in  his  daily  life.  Having 
been  always  captain  of  a  very  small  enterprise,  he  has  missed  the  training 
of  a  worker  in  the  ranks  of  one  of  the  more  complex  industries;  and  he 
chafes  under  the  discipline  which  is  indispensable  to  all  co-operative  effort. 
Indeed,  so  strong  is  this  original  disinclination  to  pull  together  with  his 
fellows  that  ninety-five  per  cent  of  all  efforts  at  co-operation  among  farmers 
in  this  country  are  said  to  have  failed.  Yet  this  principle  of  co-operative 
marketing  is  indisputably  sound.  The  whole  tendency  of  present-day 
industry  is  in  that  direction;  and,  aside  from  all  theory,  the  remarkable 
success  of  certain  farmers'  co-operative  selling  associations  that  have 
weathered  the  early  storms  and  grown  into  a  vigor  that  gives  assurance 
of  stability — and  no  less,  perhaps,  the  great  number  of  new  communities 
that  are  now  hastening  to  take  them  as  models — demonstrate  beyond 
question  the  entire  applicability  and  extreme  value  of  the  co-operative 
principle  in  the  marketing  of  farm  products. 


206 

Of  these  farmers'  associations  that  have  proved  their  worth  by  sur- 
viving, one  of  the  earliest,  and  I  believe  one  of  the  most  strikingly  success- 
ful, is  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia  Produce  Exchange;  and  since  the 
methods  by  which  it  has  revolutionized  the  farming  industry  of  the  section 
it  occupies  are  capable  of  very  general  application,  with  equal  benefits,  in 
other  communities,  a  brief  account  of  these  methods  and  of  the  nature  and 
present  scope  of  the  Exchange's  activities  will,  I  hope,  be  of  interest  to 
this  conference. 

The  Exchange  claims  as  its  territory  the  two  counties  of  Virginia  lying 
between  Chesapeake  Bay  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  a  thickly  settled,  in- 
tensely cultivated  peninsula,  devoted  entirely  to  truck-farming  and  mainly 
to  the  production  of  Irish  and  sweet  potatoes,  though  strawberries,  cabbage 
and  onions  are  also  important  crops.  It  now  markets  the  products  of  some 
three  thousand  farmers,  comprising  about  two-thirds  of  the  entire  output 
of  the  peninsula;  and  since  it  is  an  exasperating  incident  of  this  plan 
of  co-operative  marketing  that  even  those  who  actively  oppose  the  associa- 
tion will  still  benefit  by  whatever  improvement  in  general  market  condi- 
tions its  work  may  bring  about,  the  Exchange  also  stands  as  the  chief 
bulwark  against  market  disaster  for  the  constantly  dwindling  proportion 
of  Eastern  Shore  farmers  who,  for  one  reason  or  another,  still  refuse  it 
their  support — as  indeed  most  of  them  will  freely  admit.  During  this, 
its  fourteenth  year,  the  Exchange  has  marketed  over  eight  thousand  car- 
oads  of  Irish,  and  over  four  thousand  carloads  of  sweet  potatoes,  with 
enough  of  its  other  products  to  make  a  total  of  some  thirteen  thousand 
carloads,  or  about  two  and  a  half  million  barrels,  of  food  products.  These 
goods  it  has  sold  to  a  customer  list  of  more  than  a  thousand  wholesale 
produce  dealers  in  about  four  hundred  different  cities  and  towns  of  forty- 
one  different  states  and  Canadian  provinces.  And  for  these  goods  it  has 
obtained,  and  paid  over  to  its  members,  a  total  of,  in  round  numbers,  four 
and  a  half  million  dollars.  During  the  fourteen  years  covered  by  its 
activities,  the  peninsula's  total  annual  production  of  farm  products  has 
trebled  in  volume,  farm  land  values  have  risen  from  thirty-five  or  fifty 
to  from  one  to  two  hundred  dollars  an  acre,  and  there  has  been  an  ad- 
vance which  baffles  estimate  in  the  general  prosperity  and  material  stand- 
ards of  living  of  the  people — and  all  this  in  one  of  the  first  settled  parts  of 
the  oldest  state  in  the  Union,  without  any  fresh  influx  of  population,  with- 
out the  development  of  any  new  industries  or  transportation  facilities,  with- 
out even  any  very  radical  changes  in  methods  of  farming,  but  merely  under 
the  gentle  stimulus  of  the  nation's  generally  advancing  prosperity  and  in 
consequence  of  the,  substitution  fourteen  years  ago  of  a  rational  system 
of  marketing  in  place  of  the  old  haphazard  plan  of  consigning  to  commission 
merchants  or  selling  at  random  to  speculative  buyers.  Moreover, 
although  it  is  impossible  to  eliminate  all  risk — although  the  farmer  must 
look  forward  to  fat  years  alternating  with  lean  and  there  must  perhaps 
always  occur,  as  during  the  last  half  of  the  sweet  potato  season  just 


207 

closing,  occasional  periods  of  adverse  conditions  beyond  any  local  control, 
when  farm  products  cannot  be  sold  at  prices  which  include  any  element  of 
profit  for  the  farmer,  yet  there  has  never  been  any  return  in  the  fourteen 
years  of  the  association's  activity,  to  the  general  condition  of  "hard 
times"  which  had  become  chronic  before  that  period;  and  it  is  a  mild 
statement  of  the  facts  to  say  that  the  Exchange  has  put  the  agriculture 
of  the  peninsula  upon  a  basis  of  substantial  and  assured  prosperity. 

For  an  undertaking  of  this  sort,  some  degree  of  organization  is  of 
course  necessary.  Let  us  look  first  at  what  might  be  called  the  internal 
structure  of  the  association. 

The  Exchange  is  a  corporation,  regularly  chartered  under  the  laws 
of  Virginia.  Its  membership,  by  which  term  I  mean  to  include  the  entire 
body  of  persons  entitled  to  have  their  products  sold  by  it,  comprises, 
first,  all  shareholders;  second,  all  tenants  of  stockholders  who  at  any 
time  may  register  a  desire  to  become  regular  Exchange  shippers  and  there- 
after loyally  carry  out  that  intention;  and  third,  holders  of  ''certificates 
of  shipping  privilege,"  which  are  purchasable  for  the  nominal  sum  of  one 
dollar,  exacted  merely  as  an  evidence  of  good  faith,  and  which  are  non- 
traDsferable  and  become  void  immediately  the  holder  ceases  to  market  his 
goods  exclusively  through  the  association.  The  entire  membership  and 
territory  of  the  Exchange  are  divided  into  thirty-six  ''local  divisions,"  each 
centering  around  one  or  more  of  its  forty-five  shipping  points.  Each 
local  division,  acting  separately  and  by  a  vote  of  stockholders  only,  elects 
annually  a  "general  director;"  and  the  board  of  thirty-six  division  repre- 
sentatives thus  selected,  meeting  about  monthly,  and  when  occasion 
arises  at  briefer  intervals,  upon  call  of  the  president,  exercises  a  general 
supervision  over  the  current  activities  of  the  Exchange.  At  the  close 
of  each  year,  a  general  stockholders'  meeting  is  held,  at  which  the  entire 
year's  work  is  reviewed,  possible  radical  changes  of  policy  are  proposed 
and  acted  upon,  and  the  general  officers  of  the  association  are  elected 
for  the  following  year.  Of  these,  the  general  manager  and  the  secretary- 
treasurer,  in  charge  respectively  of  the  sales  an^  financial  departments,  of 
course  devote  their  entire  time  and  energies  to  the  service  of  the  Exchange. 
With  the  advice  in  matters  of  critical  importance  of  the  president,  and 
with  the  co-operation  in  their  respective  fields  of  the  general  inspector 
and  the  general  counsel,  they  direct  and  supervise  the  work  of  the 
central  office  force,  of  the  eighty  or  ninety  local  agents  and  inspectors  and 
of  the  force  of  traveling  salesmen,  act  for  the  association  in  all  important 
negotiations  incident  to  its  business,  and,  in  short,  direct  and  control 
the  regular  daily  work  of  the  Exchange. 

Since  the  central  and  essential  one  of  the  Exchange's  various  activi- 
ties is  the  selling  of  produce,  a  true  concept  of  its  workings  can  perhaps 
best  be  had  by  glancing  briefiy  at  the  machinery  and  actual  process  of 
its  selling.  First,  it  must  be  noted  that  the  products  it  handles  are  all 
perishable  and  subject  to  sudden  and  wide  variations  in  market  value. 


208 

This  necessitates  quick  action.  All  sales  are  therefore  made  by  wire, 
quotations  being  issued  for  acceptance  on  day  of  date  only  and  each  day 
constituting  a  separate  selling  campaign.  The  Postal  and  the  Western 
Union  Telegraph  Company  each  maintains  an  office,  used  exclusively  for 
Exchange  business,  on  the  upper  floor  of  the  association's  general  office 
building.  Incidentally  it  may  be  mentioned,  as  affording  some  idea  of 
the  volume  of  this  telegraphic  correspondence,  that  in  spite  of  the  constant 
use  of  a  comprehensive  private  code-book,  of  which  a  copy  is  placed  in 
the  hands  of  every  customer  and  through  which  some  three  thousand 
of  the  phrases  and  sentences  in  most  frequent  use  may  be  expressed  by 
single  words,  the  association's  expenditures  this  year  for  telegrams  will 
exceed  twenty  thousand  dollars.  From  a  telephone  switchboard  in  the 
general  office,  centrally  located  at  the  village  of  Onley,  five  private  trunk 
lines  radiate  to  all  parts  of  the  peninsula,  giving  constant  communication 
with  the  local  agency  at  each  of  the  forty-five  loading  points.  Early  in 
the  morning  of  the  typical  day  in  the  selling  season,  in  the  large  office 
room  where  the  general  manager  and  his  four  immediate  assistants  are 
gathered  to  begin  the  day's  work,  reports  are  received  by  'phone  from  each 
local  agency  of  its  prospective  loading  for  the  day — the  number  of  cars 
and  the  quality  and  grade  of  each.  In  the  meanwhile,  information  is 
being  received  by  telegraph  from  connections  of  the  Exchange  in  the  big 
eastern  markets  of  the  exact  state  of  those  markets.  From  the  associa- 
tion's representatives  in  all  the  other  important  market  centers  of  the 
country,  constant  telegraphic  information  is  also  available  as  to  local 
conditions  and  prices;  and  by  friendly  associations  or  dealers  in  other 
producing  sections,  we  are  also  kept  informed  as  to  the  loading  and  move- 
ment of  the  commodity  in  question  in  those  sections.  Being  thus  in 
possession  of  rather  complete  information  covering  the  two  essential  factors 
of  supply  and  demand,  the  general  manager  is  able,  with  something  at 
least  akin  to  scientific  accuracy,  to  determine  the  potential  market  value 
of  his  goods;  and  by  eight  or  nine  o'clock  a  range  of  prices  is  determined 
upon  and  the  day's  selling  -campaign  is  begun  with  a  fusillade  of  telegraphic 
quotations,  reinforced  with  whatever  selling  arguments  the  occasion  may 
offer,  to  the  Exchange's  customers  and  brokers  all  over  the  country  and 
to  its  outside  salesmen  stationed  upon  the  various  large  markets:  a  fusil- 
lade, of  course,  to  be  met  and  followed  throughout  the  entire  course  of 
the  day  by  acceptances  and  counter-offers,  confirmations,  refusals  and 
all  the  other  incidents  of  wholesale  selling,  with  the  ultimate  and  ever- 
present  purpose  on  the  part  of  the  Exchange  of  selling  out  so  nearly  as 
possible  the  entire  day's  loading  at  the  best  range  of  prices  obtainable  under 
the  given  set  of  general  market  conditions  that  may  then  happen  to  pre- 
vail. As  fast  as  orders  are  booked,  particular  cars  are  appropriated  to 
them,  with  the  double  purpose  in  view  of  moving  about  an  equal  propor- 
tion of  every  station's  goods  and  of  supplying  each  customer  with  the 
grade  of  stock  his  trade  demands;   and  shipping  directions  are  given  by 


209 

'phone  to  the  local  agents.  In  the  evening,  the  day's  sales-bulletin  is 
completed  before  being  passed  on  to  the  accounting  department  by  "pool- 
ing the  prices" — a  process  of  averaging  by  which  each  grower  will  be  paid, 
not  necessarily  the  exact  price  received  for  his  particular  lot  of  goods,  but 
the  average  price  received  for  all  goods  of  the  same  grade  and  value  with 
his  on  the  day  in  question;  and  as  rapidly  as  the  necessary  bookkeeping 
work  can  be  carried  through,  payment  for  each  day's  sales  is  rushed  for- 
ward to  the  local  agents,  to  whom  the  growers  go  for  settlement.  Each 
agent  is  of  course  required  to  keep  an  account  with  every  shipper  and  to 
make  payments  exclusively  by  check;  and  at  the  end  of  the  shipping 
season  all  agents  must  turn  in  their  checks,  books  and  records  for  audit 
by  the  bookkeeping  force  at  the  general  office.  All  risks  of  collection 
are  assumed  by  the  association;  and  all  expenses  of  the  business  are  met 
by  a  commission  of  five  per  cent  on  the  gross  sales,  which  is  of  course  de- 
ducted when  the  original  returns  are  made. 

In  carrying  out  its  appointed  mission,  the  Exchange  has  consistently 
adhered  to  certain  well-defined  working  principles,  by  which  its  general 
course  of  action  has  been  determined  and  upon  which,  I  believe,  its  success 
broadly  rests.  These  demand  specific  mention,  both  as  being  necessary 
to  an  appreciative  understanding  of  the  work  of  this  association  and  be- 
cause they  are  broadly  applicable,  with  equal  advantage,  to  similar  efforts 
in  a  great  number  of  other  communities.  ** 

First,  with  reference  to  what  may  be  termed  the  "home  policy"  of 
the  Exchange:  All  such  movements  are  necessarily  militant;  to  under- 
stand the  workings  of  any  such  co-operative  association,  it  must  be  borne 
constantly  in  mind  that  every  minute  of  its  life  is  a  fight — a  struggle  first 
for  existence  and  afterward  (if  there  be  any  "afterward")  for  an  increasing 
measure  of  supremacy.  For  the  success  of  any  such  movement  means 
loss,  or  unwelcome  change,  of  occupation  for  the  local  exponents  of  pre- 
viously existing  agencies  of  distribution  which  it  is  the  very  purpose  of 
the  association  to  supplant.  To  assume  that  we  have  a  vested  right  in 
whatever  benefits  we  have  once  uninterruptedly  enjoyed,  regardless  of  the 
original  basis  of  such  enjoyment,  seems  to  be  a  universal  fallacy  of  human 
nature;  and  these  men,  speculative  buyers  perhaps  or  solicitors  for  com- 
mission houses,  will  very  quickly  be  found  fighting  the  new  movement 
in  a  spirit  of  personal  resentment  born  of  a  misguided  sense  of  personal 
injury  and  with  all  the  vigor  of  the  instinct  of  self-preservation.  Each 
of  these  men  of  course  has  some  personal  following  among  the  farmers; 
and  each  can  devise  a  hundred  ways  to  estrange  supporters  from  and 
incite  antagonism  to  the  association.  The  leaders,  therefore,  in  the  co- 
operative movement  must  be  propagandists — preachers  of  a  new  doctrine 
of  solidarity  and  vigorous  advocates  of  an  occasional  surrender  of  immedi- 
ate and  temporary  self-interest  for  the  general  and  permanent  good; 
and  throughout  the  career  of  such  an  association,  parallel  with  its  external 
activities  as  a  business  concejn,  there  must  be  kept  up  in  some  form  this 


210 

constant  internal  campaign  of  stimulating  loyalty  within  the  ranks  and 
of  gaining  new  recruits.  With  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia  Exchange, 
this  fight  has  been  fierce  and  incessant  from  the  start,  and  marked  by  a 
degree  of  enthusiastic  loyalty  on  the  part  of  the  association's  supporters 
and  of  bitter  antagonism  on  the  part  of  its  leading  enemies  for  which  a 
parallel  can  hardly  be  found  in  politics,  or  elsewhere  than  in  war.  From 
the  beginning  it  was  realized  that  every  Eastern  Shore  farmer  who  was 
not  for  and  with  the  Exchange  was  against  it — that  every  man  who  fur- 
nished potatoes  to  the  local  dealers  whose  operations  had  for  years  proved 
disastrous  to  the  country's  prosperity  and  who  were  now  actively  seeking 
to  destroy  the  association,  was  giving  not  only  "aid  and  comfort"  but  in 
a  very  real  sense  ammunition  to  the  enemy.  And  from  the  very  start 
the  Exchange  has  insisted  as  the  cardinal  and  almost  only  obligation  of 
membership,  upon  the  constant  and  undivided  loyalty  of  every  membsr. 
The  very  minute  an  Exchange  man  yields  to  the  blandishments  of  the 
local  buyer  or  to  the  attraction  of  an  artificial  price  set  slightly  in  advance 
of  the  fair  market  value  of  his  goods  for  advertising  purposes  and  in  order 
to  make  a  break  in  the  ranks,  the  moment  he  sells  a  barrel  outside  the 
Exchange,  he  forfeits  all  rights  of  Exchange  membership  and  unless  re- 
instated by  special  resolution  of  the  boaid  of  directors  can  make  no  further 
shipments  through  the  association  for  the  entire  remainder  of  the  year. 
And  although  opcasional  more  or  less  valid  grounds  of  dissatisfaction 
with  the  Exchange  are  bound  to  arise,  and  the  local  buyers  are  always 
on  the  alert  to  pick  off  stragglers,  the  total  number  of  desertions  has  been, 
on  the  whole,  surprisingly  few. 

Again,  the  Exchange  differs  radically  from  the  ordinary  corporation 
in  that  its  purpose  is  not  the  making  of  profits  for  its  stockholders.  Its 
entire  capital  stock,  in  fact,  is  only  forty-two  thousand  dollars,  divided  into 
shares  of  a  par  value  of  only  five  dollars,  which  it  has  been  the  constant 
and  reasonably  successful  aim  of  the  directors  to  keep  widely  distributed 
in  small  holdings.  In  addition,  a  surplus  fund  of  about  a  hundred  and  ten 
thousand  dollars  has  been  gradually  accumulated  from  the  profits  of  the 
business;  and  it  is  now  a  regular  provision  of  the  by-laws  that  at  the  end 
of  each  year,  after  payment  of  a  dividend  not  to  exceed  ten  per  cent,  what- 
ever net  profits  may  remain  shall  be  divided  in  half,  one  half  being  added 
to  the  surplus  in  order  that  the  association's  fixed  resources  may  keep 
pace  with  the  constant  growth  of  its  business  and  the  other  half  being 
distributed  back  among  all  the  loyal  shippers  of  the  Exchange,  whether 
stockholders,  tenants  of  stockholders  or  holders  of  shipping  privileges 
merely,  in  proportion  to  their  respective  contributions  of  produce.  '  At  the 
close  of  the  present  season,  barring  any  unexpected  large  loss  not  now 
apparent,  about  fifty  thousand  dollars  remains  to  be  so  divided. 

And  now  with  respect  to  the  external  activities  of  the  Exchange, 
in  pursuit  of  its  original  and  proper  purpose  of  marketing  the  products  of 
its  members:     First  and  foremost,  it  aims  at  enlightened  and  aggressive 


211 

salesmanship.  It  gets  out  for  business.  It  goes  to  the  buyer,  urges  upon 
him  the  merits  of  what  it  has  to  sell,  and  assures  to  the  farmer  for  whom  it 
acts  a  real  voice  in  the  negotiations  that  determine  the  selling  price  of  his 
goods.  The  man  who  annoimced  to  the  world  that  it  takes  two  to  make 
a  bargain  never  witnessed  a  transaction  between  a  capable  buyer  of  farm 
products  and  a  small  farmer,  helpless  in  his  ignorance  of  general  market 
conditions  and  tied  up  by  the  necessity  of  selling  promptly;  and  certainly 
that  sage  never  dreamed  that  whole  communities  of  producers  might 
dump  the  fruits  of  their  annual  labors  into  the  indifferent  markets  of 
distant  cities  without  regard  to  any  relationship  between  supply  and  de- 
mand, there  to  be  sold  for  whatever  they  might  chance  to  bring.  More 
than  ninety  per  cent  of  the  total  output  of  the  Exchange  is  sold  f.  o.  b. 
loading  point,  the  exact  price  being  a  matter  of  contract  before  the  cars 
roll,  and  the  small  remainder  which  is  consigned  to  its  authorized  selling 
agents  in  near-by  markets  being  mainly  odd  lots  and  goods  of  inferior 
grade  or  doubtful  keeping  qualities  which  it  is  unwilling  to  put  out  to  its 
regular  trade.  In  pushing  the  sale  of  its  products,  the  association  has  been 
constantly  reaching  out  into  new  territory,  until  its  market,  which  was  at 
first  confined  mainly  to  a  few  eastern  cities,  now  includes  a  considerable 
part  of  Canada  and  practically  the  entire  United  States  east  of  the  Pacific 
slope.  To  provide  a  more  direct  and  personal  means  of  conununication 
with  its  trade,  the  Exchange  has  found  it  advantageous  to  station  its  own 
men  throughout  the  selling  season  in  many  of  the  leading  market  centers. 
This  year  it  sent  out  from  its  general  office  representatives  to  Boston, 
Toronto,  Buffalo,  Detroit,  Scranton,  Pittsburgh,  Chicago,  Kansas  City  and 
Davenport,  Iowa,  and  next  year  Montreal  and  probably  St.  Louis  will  be 
added. 

Again,  the  Exchange  aims  to  substitute  an  intelligent  singleness  of  con- 
trol and  unity  of  action  in  the  marketing  of  the  products  of  the  peninsula 
for  unrestrained  and  often  frantic  competition  among  a  great  number  of 
small  producers.  It  may  be  objected  that  this  is  monopolistic.  It  is. 
But  monopoly  is  not  per  se  and  under  all  circumstances  a  matter  for  just 
condemnation;  and  the  sort  of  monopoly  that  has  made  the  term  odious 
has  not  been,  and  is  not  apt  to  be,  a  monopoly  effected  by  small  farmers 
in  a  restricted  agricultural  section.  Whenever  in  any  industry  the  individ- 
ual producers  are  so  numerous,  their  separate  output  so  small  in  volume, 
their  resources  and  facilities  for  utilizing  potential  market  advantages 
so  scant,  and  their  needs  so  pressing  as  to  render  unrestricted  competition 
between  them  disastrous  to  their  industry  and  to  destroy  the  incentive 
of  a  normal  degree  of  profitableness,  then  combination,  and  if  you  will 
monopoly,  between  them  is  not  only  justifiable  but  demanded  by  the 
best  interests  of  the  country  at  large.  On  the  Eastern  Shore,  in  the  five 
years  preceding  the  organization  of  the  Exchange,  the  marketing  of  farm 
products  was  coming  gradually  into  the  hands  of  a  class  of  men  known  as 
^' local  buyers,"  of  whom  one  or  more  could  be  found  at  every  loading  point. 


212 

These  men  bought  from  the  farmers,  generally  to  fill  orders  previously 
booked.  As  a  matter  of  actual  experience,  the  competition  was  all  in  the 
selling  end  of  their  business.  The  farmers,  uninformed  as  to  general 
market  conditions  and  forced  by  the  perishable  nature  of  their  goods  to 
make  quick  sales,  were  helpless  to  do  any  real  bargaining  and  pretty  gen- 
erally accepted  whatever  price  the  local  buyers  offered.  Moreover,  as  these 
local  buyers  were  men  of  small  capital  and  worked  generally  for  a  per  pack- 
age brokerage  or  margin  of  profit,  regardless  of  whether  prices  happened 
to  be  high  or  low,  they  had  a  very  positive  interest  in  establishing  and 
maintaining  a  low  range  of  prices.  And  the  actual  and  inevitable  result 
of  their  activities  had  come  to  be  that  after  a  brief  period  of  early  high 
prices,  before  the  general  crop  movement  was  well  under  way,  the  market 
would  fall  to  about  the  lowest  level  at  which  the  farmers  could  be  induced 
to  pack  and  haul  out  their  already  matured  products  rather  than  leave  them 
to  rot  in  the  ground.  It  was  a  realization  of  the  abuses  inherent  in  this 
system  of  "laissez  faire"  marketing  and  a  determination  to  supplant  it 
that  furnished  the  initial  momentum  for  the  movement  to  establish  the 
Exchange. 

Again,  the  Exchange  stands  for  the  standardization  of  farm  products. 
It  aims  to  get  the  farmer  more  for  his  goods  by  making  those  goods  intrin- 
sically worth  more — and  above  all,  by  making  their  worth  more  certain — 
by  making  the  contents  of  his  packages  a  fair  inference  from  the  manifest 
and  the  top  layer,  and  not,  as  is  too  often  the  case  with  the  farmer's  pack, 
a  mere  matter  of  conjecture.  When  the  Exchange  member  hauls  his  goods 
to  the  station,  they  go  first  to  the  local  inspector,  who  must  examine  and 
pass  upon  them,  emptying  a  barrel  at  random  from  every  load,  before 
they  go  into  the  car.  Certain  definite  standards  of  culling,  of  size  and 
filling  of  packages,  and  of  quality  and  condition  of  contents,  are  insisted 
upon;  and  only  goods  which  meet  these  requirements  are.  sold  under  the 
association's  official  mark  of  approval — its  registered  trade  mark,  the  Red 
Star  Brand.  To  promote  uniformity  and  insure  certainty  of  inspection,  a 
general  inspector,  having  now  complete  administrative  control  of  the 
entire  force  of  local  inspectors,  with  power  of  removal,  and  provided  with 
an  assistant,  travels  constantly  from  one  shipping  point  to  another,  coach- 
ing and  reviewing  the  work  of  the  local  inspectors.  The  process  involved, 
as  it  affects  the  farmer,  is  one  of  education,  and  therefore  slow,  and  the 
results  thus  far  attained  leave  much  to  be  accomplished,  as  an  occasional 
letter  from  some  exasperated  customer  still  forces  us  to  admit;  but  great 
and  permanent  progress  has  indisputably  been  made  in  this  field  of  the 
association's  labors,  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  Red  Star  Brand 
has  now  acquired  a  national  reputation  among  produce  dealers,  which 
insures  the  goods  that  bear  it  a  preference  in  practically  every  important 
market  in  the  United  States. 

And  finally,  and  more  comprehensive,  the  Exchange  aims  at,  and 
has  in  large  measure  achieved,  first  througiRhe  natural  economy  of  operat- 


213 

ing  on  a  large  scale,  and  secondly  through  the  elimination  of  useless  middle- 
men and  the  simplifying  of  unnecessarily  slow  and  complicated  marketing 
processes,  the  lowest  possible  cost  of  distribution.  It  gets  for  the  farmer  a 
larger  number  of  the  hundred  pennies  in  the  ultimate  consumer's  dollar, 
not  by  increasing  the  size  of  that  dollar,  but  by  reducing  the  number 
absorbed  in  the  tolls  and  wastes  of  unintelligent,  haphazard  methods  of 
distribution.  To  illustrate  by  a  rather  extreme  example,  under  the  old  sys- 
tem of  marketing  still  in  vogue  in  many  sections,  the  farmer  ships  twenty 
barrels  of  sweet  potatoes  "on  consignment"  to  a  commission  merchant  in 
New  York,  who,  as  the  market  in  that  city  happens  to  be  glutted,  sells  them 
for  a  trifle  more  than  freight  charges  to  a  speculative  buyer,  who  combines 
thtm  into  a  car  with  a  hundred  and  eighty  other  barrels  similarly  bought 
and  sells  them  at  a  profit  to  a  Chicago  dealer,  who  resells  them  at  a  further 
profit  to  a  wholesaler  at  Milwaukee.  The  farmer  gets  nothing;  but 
Mrs.  Janssen,  of  Milwaukee,  who  buys  a  half  peck  of  these  potatoes, 
must  pay  a  proportionate  part  of  the  profits  of  these  several  dealers,  of 
the  several  separate  assessments  of  freight,  and  of  the  shrinkage  in  the 
car  by  reason  of  its  several  handlings  and  of  the  long  delay.  Under  the 
present  system,  the  Exchange  sells  direct  by  wire  to  the  wholesale  dealer 
at  Milwaukee,  who  is  on  its  regular  quoting  list  and  with  whom  it  is  in 
direct  and  constant  touch;  the  original  twenty  barrels  of  potatoes  move 
out  with  those  of  other  members  of  the  association,  the  same  day  they  are 
loaded,  direct  to  Milwaukee  under  a  car-lot  rate  of  freight;  the  Milwau- 
kee dealer  and  Mrs.  Janssen  pay  probably  about  the  same;  the  railroads 
lose  their  freight  charges  for  the  roundabout,  double  haul;  the  commis- 
sion man,  the  speculator  and  the  Chicago  dealer  find,  let  us  hope,  more 
useful  employment;   and  the  farmer  gets  a  living  price  for  his  goods. 

The  Exchange,  be  it  remembered,  has  no  quarrel  with  the  economic- 
ally legitimate  middleman.  And  in  particular,  we  believe  that  too  much 
importance  has  been  attached  to  the  dishonesty  of  commission  merchants; 
that  for  every  dollar  filched  from  the  American  farmer  by  the  dishonesty 
of  a  commission  merchant,  a  hundred  have  been  lost  through  his  own 
stupidity  in  blindly  following  unintelligent  and  outgrown  methods  of 
marketing.  In  our  industrial  life,  the  processes  of  distribution  are  just 
as  important  as  those  of  production;  the  man  who  in  any  efficient  way 
facilitates  the  transfer  of  our  farm  products  from  those  who  grow  to  those 
who  eat  them  is  just  as  truly  and  creditably  helping  to  feed  the  country 
as  the  man  that  guides  the  plow.  But  whenever  the  machinery  of  dis- 
tribution is  found  unnecessarily  cumbersome,  when  its  processes  are 
needlessly  complex  and  circuitous,  when  the  movement  of  its  products 
departs  from  that  commercial  straight  line  which  is  the  shortest  practical 
distance  between  the  two  points  of  producer  and  consumer,  then  the 
superfluous  middleman  is  an  economic  nuisance  and  his  earnings  an  in- 
tolerable tax.  And  it  is  in  the  discovery  and  elimination  of  these  need- 
less complexities,  in  the  blazing  out  of  new  trails  of  commercial  direct- 


214 

ness,  that  these  farmers*  exchanges  now  springing  up  all  over  the  land 
have  their  basic  function,  and  in  the  consciousness  of  aiding  to  bring  the 
great  work  of  distributing  our  farm  products  up  to  the  same  standards 
of  enlightened  and  enterprising  efficiency  that  prevail  in  other  depart- 
ments of  our  national  industry  that  the  architects  and  inciters  of  these 
movements  must  find  their  chief  satisfaction.  And  if  in  my  fragmentary 
account  of  the  work  of  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia  Produce  Exchange 
there  has  seemed  to  be  nothing  very  new  or  remarkable,  if  its  aims  and 
methods  have  seemed  merely  analogous  to  those  of  any  other  well-regulated 
business  enterprise,  I  ask  you  to  recall  Doctor  Johnson's  illustration 
of  the  dog  walking  upon  its  hind  legs — a  performance  which  he  described 
as  not  remarkable  in  itself,  nor  for  the  intrinsic  excellence  with  which  it 
was  done,  but  because  it  was  a  dog  that  did  it — and  to  reflect  that  the  true 
import  of  this  work  and  the  augury  which  it  carries  of  a  better  era  lie  in 
the  fact  that  it  has  been  the  unaided  work,  in  a  typical  community,  of 
the  American  farmer,  who  has  so  long  been  the  dog,  and  the  under  dog, 
in  our  industrial  life  and  has  so  generally  been  contented  to  go  aimlessly 
upon  all-fours  in  the  vital  matter  of  the  marketing  of  his  products. 

Mr.  Calwell:  We  have  with  us  Mr.  Stubbs,  who  is  chairman  of 
the  Agricultural  Committee  of  the  Pennsylvania  Bankers'  Association. 
I  would  like  to  give  him  three  or  four  minutes  if  he  will  come  to  the  plat- 
form. 

Mr.  Stubbs:  When  we  are  told,  as  we  just  have  been  told  by  Mr. 
Harris,  how  many  acres  we  control  in  Pennsylvania,  of  course  we  then  have 
to  consider  ourselves  bankers.  We  have  no  doubt  all  listened  to  the  pam- 
phlet Mr.  Harris  read  on  Pennsylvania  Agricultural  Statistics,  showing 
Pennsylvania  in  the  rear.  I  attended,  as  Mr.  Harris  has  told  you  of,  the 
convention  in  Minneapolis  and  in  Kansas  City.  I  must  say  I  was  ashamed 
to  see  how  lacking  we  were  in  interest  in  agricultural  matters.  Mr.  Harris 
has  certainly  given  us  a  splendid  address,  and  I  believe  this  subject  of 
extension  work  of  agricultural  colleges  is  going  to  be  more  and  more  an 
important  factor  in  their  work,  and  we  need  to  interest  ourselves  in  it. 
The  members  of  the  Pennsylvania  Agricultural  College,  Mr.  McDowell 
and  Mr.  Watts,  have  already  told  us  of  some  of  the  work  being  done  there 
and  also  as  to  the  annual  appropriations  the  college  receives  from  the 
state,  last  year  $20,000  being  appropriated.  And  I  think  you  will  all  agree 
with  me  when  I  say  the  work  of  the  field  demonstrator  is  a  most  efficient 
medium  in  extension  work.  As  one  of  our  Washington  men  has  told 
us,  when  he  sits  in  his  office  in  Washington  and  sends  out  circulars  and 
correspondence,  progress  is  slow,  but  when  he  goes  out  or  sends  represen- 
tatives to  the  states  in  the  South  where  he  has  been  doing  the  work,  then 
he  gets  results.  We  want  to  advance  along  the  line  of  the  field  demon- 
strator. It  is  certain  that  the  Committee  on  Agriculture  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Bankers'  Association  will  again  come  to  you  in  an  effort  to  have  you 


215 

help  along  this  important  movement.  Our  college  authorities  tell  us  we 
helped  some  in  getting  that  appropriation  through  last  year.  They  want  to 
advance  it  the  next  time,  and  what  better  service  can  we  give  than  to  help 
that  movement.  The  college  authorities  tell  us  they  want  to  fill  in  the 
missing  link  between  themselves  and  the  farm  by  the  farm-bureau  man  and 
the  field  demonstrator.  They  said  it  is  necessary  that  we  put  some  col- 
lege men  out  into  the  field  demonstrating,  where  they  will  talk  to  and  show 
the  farmer,  and  we  hope  you  will  help  Pennsylvania  State  College  along 
this  line.  It  is  not  merely  a  question  of  getting  into  this  work  out  of 
sjnnpathy,  or  anything  of  that  kind,  but  this  movement  is  getting  big, 
and  the  banker  has  been  backward  in  getting  into  it.  Something  is  going 
to  come  of  this  movement,  it  is  going  to  crystallize  sooner  or  later,  and 
the  bankers  better  be  in  it,  because  we  want  something  to  say  on  these 
things  along  financial  lines,  and  the  bankers  ought  to  have  a  part  in  it. 
So  far  as  the  Pennsylvania  banker  is  concerned,  I  think  we  are  progressing 
in  it,  because  we  have  the  Com  Exchange  National  Bank  as  a  member 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Bankers'  Association  and  they  have  been  doing  a 
splendid  work.  It  was  a  novel  idea  of  Mr.  CalwelFs  in  starting  this  corn 
show  and  giving  these  cash  prizes  ($1,250)  and  we  ought  to  be  glad  we 
have  in  Pennsylvania  a  banking  interest  in  this  movement.  Do  you  know 
if  there  is  any  state  in  the  Union  that  has  a  national  bank  taking  such  an 
interest  in  this  movement  as  the  Com  Exchange  National  Bank  of  Phila- 
delphia? So  I  say  we  must  be  alive  ourselves  if  we  are  not  going  to  be 
ashamed  of  ourselves  by  not  devoting  at  least  a  portion  of  our  time  to 
this  great  question  of  agriculture  among  the  banking  interests  of  the 
country. 

Mr.  Calwell  :  Mr.  Forrest  Crissey,  whose  name  is  on  the  program, 
is  not  here  today  and  we  have  an  old  Com  Exchange  Bank  boy  with  us. 
He  is  standing  there  near  the  door.  [Applause.]  If  he  hadn't  gone  out 
of  the  bank  some  years  ago,  he  would  have  my  job  today.  He  is 
engaged  today  as  city  statistician.  I  am  going  to  ask  Dr.  Cattell  to  speak 
to  you. 


ADDRESS. 


By  Edward  James  Cattell, 

Statistician,  City  of  Philadelphia. 


I  welcome  from  my  heart  the  opportunity  which  Mr.  Calwell  has  given 
me  to  address  this  important  body  on  this  important  subject,  because  this 
meeting  appeals  to  me  strongly,  not  only  because  of  the  vital  necessity 
of  studying  agricultural  problems,  but  because  I  can  speak  to  you  as  an 
old  bank  boy — one  whose  privilege  it  was  to  labor  in  the  Corn  Exchange 
National  Bank  nearly  fifty  years  ago. 

I  am  further  glad  to  speak  because  it  offers  opportunity  for  me  to 
thank  the  preceding  speaker  for  his  most  illuminating  and  interesting 
explanation  of  the  system  established  on  the  peninsula  for  the  handling  of 
farm  products,  which  certainly  points  the  way  along  which  an  immense 
amount  of  good  can  be  accomplished,  resulting  in  added  wealth  to  the  pro- 
ducer and,  through  an  increased  volume  of  products,  reducing  cost  of  living 
to  the  consumers. 

While  he  was  talking,  an  old  memory  of  a  visit  to  the  eastern  shore 
came  back  to  me  with  compelling  force — a  visit  on  a  farm,  when  young, 
where  I  met  the  two  laziest  men  I  have  ever  come  across  in  my  world-wide 
journeyings.  These  brothers  were  so  lazy  that  it  took  two  of  them  to 
sneeze,  one  to  throw  his  head  back,  and  the  other  to  make  the  noise;  and 
they  would  sometimes  wait  an  hour,  or  two  hours,  the  one  for  the  other, 
rather  than  essay  the  awful  strain  of  sneezing  individually.  I  do  not  for 
a  moment  mean  to  suggest  that  this  traditional  opposition  to  labor  still 
prevails  in  the  peninsula  today,  or  that  it  is  in  any  way  responsible  for  the 
necessity  which  has  brought  about  this  splendid  system  of  distribution. 
At  the  same  time,  it  may  suggest  a  certain  line  of  development  which 
promises  great  returns  to  the  nation  at  large,  namely,  a  more  energetic 
and  intelligent  handling  of  the  food-producing  question.  We  have  fallen, 
of  late,  into  the  habit,  especially  in  financial  centers,  of  regarding  this 
country  as  practically  a  finished  country.  It  is  the  commonplace  of  our 
public  speakers,  and  of  the  press,  to  refer  to  the  good  old  days  when  there 
were  plenty  of  opportunities,  plenty  of  unoccupied  land,  and  the  nation 
was  just  being  opened  up.  Of  course  this  is  all  nonsense.  After  an 
agricultural  development  which  has  staggered  the  world  by  its  rapidity, 
we  have  still  awaiting  utilization  practically  three-fourths  of  the  surface 
of  the  republic;  and  if  you  take  into  consideration  the  multiplication  of 
producing  power,  bom  of  intensive  farming,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  meas- 
ure the  extent  to  which  we  can  increase  our  product  from  even  our  present- 

(216) 


217 

day  area  of  cultivated  land.  For  when  you  remember  that  we,  on  prac- 
tically virgin  soil,  are  raising  crops  les^  than  one-third  the  volume  raised 
in  Europe  on  land  tilled  for  more  than  a  thousand  years,  a  faint  idea  is 
obtained  of  the  development  ahead  of  us  if  we  do  our  duty. 

When,  also,  it  is  recalled  that  in  many  sections  product  per  acre 
has  been  raised,  in  certain  crops,  from  30  bushels  to  300  bushels  to  the 
acre,  there  comes  a  vision  of  a  new  America,  and  a  new  area  of  prosperity, 
alongside  of  which  all  other  eras  will  seem  practical  failures. 

We  must  look  at  this  question  on  all  sides,  and  that  is  the  great 
advantage  of  just  such  a  convention  as  this,  where  men  who  are  scientific- 
ally trained  to  approach  great  economical  questions,  who  are  accustomed 
in  their  daily  business  life  to  measure  probabilities  underlying  various 
kinds  of  projects,  put  their  whole  attention  for  a  time  on  this  one  great 
question  of  producing  and  marketing  agricultural  products. 

As  I  have  already  said,  it  is  dangerous  to  regard  a  question  from 
only  one  point  of  view  and  to  believe  that  this  point  is  the  only  point. 
That  lesson  was  driven  home  to  me  recently  when  driving  a  car  along  a 
New  Jersey  road.  Rounding  a  corner  I  found  my  progress  blocked  by 
an  overturned  load  of  hay.  The  driver  of  the  team  was  slowly  endeavoring 
to  clear  the  roadway.  He  seemed  so  hot  and  tired  that  I  suggested  that 
he  take  a  rest  for  a  few  moments.  *'No!"  he  answered  sharply.  ''I 
cannot  stop;  father  wouldn't  like  it."  His  manner,  as  well  as  his  words, 
rebuffed  me,  and  I  lit  a  cigar,  paced  up  and  down  for  five  minutes,  then 
the  fellow's  evident  exhaustion  made  me  feel  it  my  duty  to  again  warn  him. 
Putting  my  hand  on  his  shoulder  I  said,  "My  dear  fellow,  you  must  rest 
for  a  few  minutes;  you  are  getting  dangerously  hot."  *'No!"  he  again 
replied,  "  I  cannot  stop;  father  wouldn't  like  it."  Annoyed  at  this  seeming 
excess  of  meekness,  I  exclaimed,  "Where  is  your  father?"  "Under  the 
hay,"  was  his  terse  answer. 

In  this  case  I  had  misjudged  the  whole  situation,  blaming  the  man's 
risk  of  his  life  to  a  fear  of  a  scolding  from  a  father  safely  resting  at  home, 
whereas  the  case  did  justify  active  effort  on  the  part  of  my  new  acquaint- 
ance. This,  as  I  say,  suggests  the  necessity  of  looking  at  this  question 
from  all  points  of  view,  and  I  believe  if  that  course  is  followed  one  of  the 
first  points  that  will  impress  itself  deeply  on  the  fair-minded  student  is  a 
fact  which  has  given  me  cause  for  serious  thought.  I  had  noted,  as  you 
all  have  noted,  the  tremendous  amount  of  space  occupied  in  the  press  with 
record  of  speeches  and  articles  charging  excessive  freight  rates  on  the 
railroads,  and  ascribing  many  of  our  ills  to  this  condition.  What  a  new 
light  is  thrown  on  this  whole  subject  when,  studying  a  little  deeper,  we 
come  to  realize  that  all  this  agitation  has  to  do  with  freight  rates  which 
figure  at  less  than  one  cent  a  ton  a  mile.  Meanwhile,  nothing,  hardly, 
is  said  of  our  foolishness  in  following  a  policy  in  road  development  which 
places  upon  our  moving  crops  an  excess  cost  of  certainly  not  less  than 
fifteen  cents  a  ton  a  mile. 


218 

A  short  time  ago  I  investigated  the  movement  of  merchandise  and 
crops  from  point  of  production  to  point  where  they  first  reached  a  rail  or 
river  shipping  station;  in  other  words,  the  distance  the  articles  were  trans- 
ported over  the  old  roads  of  the  country.  This  worked  out  an  average 
of  nine  miles,  at  a  cost  of  25  cents  a  ton  a  mile.  Had  these  roads  been  in 
proper  condition,  the  cost  would  have  certainly  not  been  more  than 
10  cents  a  ton  a  mile.  This  condition  is  due  to  the  fact  that  practically 
nine-tenths  of  all  the  roads  in  the  country  are  in  exactly  the  same  con- 
dition as  when  finished  by  the  first  settlers.  This  handicap  on  general 
prosperity  represents  not  merely  the  added  cost  of  moving  food  and  various 
kinds  of  product,  but  this  high  toll  on  the  initial  movement  is  so  great, 
that  millions  of  tons  of  product  rot  back  to  nature  and  play  no  part  in  creat- 
ing that  exchange  between  various  types  of  producers,  which  is  the  founda- 
tion of  a  country's  prosperity  and  the  advancing  condition  of  its  civilization. 

A  few  years  ago  it  was  shown  that  more  than  six  hundred  million  tons 
moving  on  the  railroads  had  a  value  at  point  of  production  less  than  one 
dollar  a  ton.  This  figure  illustrates  what  a  tremendous  factor  this  excess 
cost  of  movement  over  roads  to  initial  point  of  shipment  is  in  the  general 
run  of  affairs;  for  this  excess  is  greater  than  the  average  value  of  this 
immense  body  of  product. 

I  feel  that  one  result  of  this  convention  will  be  a  closer  attention  to  the 
question  of  good  roads  and  a  proper  utilization  of  such  roads  as  now  exist 
by  a  system  of  gathering  product  in  small  quantities  from  farmers  of  a 
common  neighborhood,  concentrating  into  salable  lots  many  small  bodies 
of  product  which  now,  because  of  their  smallness,  will  not  pay  cost  of  pack- 
ing, transportation  and  distribution  in  the  cities. 

I  am  naturally  an  optimist,  and  the  longer  I  live  the  stronger  grows 
that  optimism.  Only  recently  a  friend  called  to  see  me,  a  dear  old  Irish- 
man who  has  never  outgrown  his  habits  and  forms  of  speech  acquired  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  "Well,  Mr.  Cattell,"  he  exclaimed  as  he 
entered  my  office,  '^I'm  going  out  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,"  to  which  I 
replied,  "Man  alive,  you  cannot  stand  it.  I  have  been  out  there  myself 
and  it  is  185  degrees  in  the  shade."  Back  came  his  answer,  "By  the 
saints,  I  needn't  stay  in  the  shade  all  the  time!" 

We  want  more  of  this  self-confidence,  this  belief  that  even  if  we  do 
not  understand  a  situation  our  native  ability  will  show  us  some  way  to 
change  our  position  for  the  better.  Then,  too,  we  want  a  little  of  the  spirit, 
it  seems  to  me,  of  another  acquaintance,  living  here  in  Philadelphia, 
whose  ill-fortune  it  was  to  fall  from  the  roof  of  a  very  high  building;  and 
by  the  testimony  of  those  occupying  offices  in  the  building,  this  man,  as 
he  passed  each  floor  in  his  perilous  descent,  exclaimed,  "Don't  worry, 
I'm  all  right  up  to  the  present  time."  He  evidently  waited  for  the  final 
bump  and  tried  to  enjoy  himself  during  the  trip  before  that  bump  arrived. 

I  suggest,  therefore,  that  this  convention,  when  it  dissolves,  and  its 
units  return  to  their  home  environment,  carry  back,  each  to  his  special 


219 

circle  of  friends,  the  high  resolve  to  look  hopefully  to  the  future;  to  wait 
until  trouble  comes  before  bearing  the  suffering  incident  to  that  trouble; 
to  realize  clearly  that  every  American  is  here  enjoying  a  unique  position; 
that  every  American  is  a  sovereign  of  divine  right,  with  some  special  work 
to  do,  allotted  him  by  the  living  God,  which  no  other  man  can  do — ^work 
which,  if  he  leaves  undone,  somebody,  somewhere,  is  certain  to  suffer  loss 
from  his  neglect.  Let  us  all  remember  that  experience  which  Mr.  Carlisle 
had  when  he  went  to  make  complaint  to  a  neighbor  about  the  suffering 
caused  by  the  crowing  of  this  woman's  game  cocks  at  night.  "Madam," 
said  he,  "I  cannot  stand  their  noise,  they  drive  me  crazy."  ''Why,  Mr. 
Carlisle,"  replied  the  woman,  "you  are  exaggerating.  The  poor  birds 
only  crow  three  times  each  night;  each  crow  only  lasts  three  seconds; 
what  are  nine  seconds  of  suffering  to  a  strong  man  like  you."  "Madam," 
exclaimed  Carlisle,  "You  don't  know  what  I  suffer  waiting  for  the  danm 
things  to  crow." 

Let  us  drop  this  habit  of  waiting  for  trouble  and  anticipating  dis- 
aster. On  every  side  are  hopeful  signs  if  we  will  only  read  them  with  honest 
eyes.  In  1869  I  crossed  this  continent  on  the  first  roads  Imking  the  Atlan- 
tic and  Pacific.  On  that  journey  I  traveled  five  days  over  a  tract  of  land 
which  every  map  in  the  world  described  as  the  American  desert.  Today, 
thanks  to  science,  in  the  heart  of  that  desert  they  are  raising  three  crops 
a  year.  I  can  well  remember  the  day  when  all  through  the  South  notices 
were  posted  threatening  a  fine  to  people  who  left  cotton  seed  as  waste  in 
the  streets.  Today  that  despised  cotton  seed,  thanks  to  science,  furnishes 
us  a  credit  balance,  through  exports,  of  more  than  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  million  dollars  a  year.  Science  has  done  much;  science  will  do 
more.  Today  we  take  five  himdred  and  seventy  million  tons  of  coal  out 
of  the  earth  annually,  wasting  two  hundred  and  fifty  million  tons  under 
ground.  Science  will  show  us  how  to  save  this  waste  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  million  tons.  When  we  take  into  use  the  coal  mined,  we  get  out  of 
it  eleven  per  cent  of  its  power  and  waste  eighty-nine  per  cent.  Science 
will  show  us  how  to  get  the  eighty-nine  per  cent  and  waste  only  eleven 
per  cent. 

Today,  there  is  running  to  waste  in  the  rivers  of  the  United  States, 
three  times  the  pulling  power  of  all  the  horses  of  the  world.  Science  will 
show  us  how  to  harness  this  power  to  the  uses  of  commerce  and  manu- 
facture, and  a  new  body  of  purchasing  power  will  be  called  into  existence. 
Dry  farming  methods  in  the  West,  drainage  of  submerged  land  in  the  South, 
reclamation  of  arid  land  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  are  creating  each  year 
a  new  farming  republic;  and  he  who  is  a  pessimist  in  face  of  such  condi- 
tions, it  seems  to  me,  should  consult  as  soon  as  possible  his  medical  practi- 
tioner. 

This  conference  is  one  which  should  command  the  respect  of  the 
whole  country,  for  it  has  to  do  with  the  production  of  food,  basis  of  all 
prosperity,  foimdation  of  all  civilization.     It  is  a  great  national  work  upon 


220 

which  you  are  engaged.  Participating  in  such  a  meeting  as  this,  you  are 
playing  the  part  of  statesmen  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word;  and  I  may 
be  pardoned,  I  feel,  if,  holding  this  view  of  the  present  conference,  I 
express  a  feeling  of  intense  satisfaction  at  finding  such  a  movement  led 
by  the  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank.  One  of  my  family  was  the  first 
president  of  this  bank,  and  it  was  through  his  efforts  that  this  city  of 
Philadelphia  obtained  the  establishment  of  League  Island  as  a  great 
Naval  Station — a  naval  station  which  some  day,  in  time  of  peril,  may 
prove  the  salvMion  of  the  whole  country.  The  Corn  Exchange  Bank,  with 
its  associate  the  Corn  Exchange  of  Philadelphia,  *  in  time  of  national  peril 
rallied  to  the  support  of  the  National  Government,  organized  and  equipped 
an  important  regiment  of  soldiers,  and  out  of  a  small  membership  contrib- 
uted three  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  dollars  to  their  support 
and  maintenance. 

These  facts  are  mentioned  here,  and  by  me,  merely  to  suggest  the 
thought  that  the  Com  Exchange  Bank  is  only  following  its  tradition  in  thus 
inaugurating  a  great  national  movement  like  this  Agricultural  Conference, 
for  participation  in,  and  leadership  of,  truly  patriotic  movements  has 
always  been  the  practice  of  the  Corn  Exchange  Bank. 

In  closing,  I  want  to  put  before  you  a  little  picture  which  always 
confronts  me  as  the  Christmas  season  draws  near,  lending  to  that  season 
a  certain  note  of  feeling  which  it  might  otherwise  lack.  Years  ago,  travel- 
ing down  the  Volga,  in  far  Russia,  I  stopped  at  a  little  village  where  all  the 
people  were  engaged  in  making  toys — making  toys  which  were  sent  all 
over  the  world  at  Christmas  time,  to  tell  in  their  own  sweet  way  the  story 
of  the  Christ  to  other  children  and  to  older  folks  who  still  hold  the  child 
heart  clean  and  sweet,  even  if  gray  hair  had  come  to  be  their  portion  and 
their  crown.  As  I  watched  these  children  in  this  village  fashioning  toys, 
little  children  who  as  they  worked  looked  out  through  narrow  windows 
upon  a  vast  stretch  of  untilled  land,  land  untilled  because  of  bad  govern- 
mental conditions,  one  of  the  children  dropped  the  toy  upon  which  she  was 
working  upon  the  hard,  earthen  floor.  I  said  to  my  guide,  ''Is  she  ner- 
vous because  I'm  watching? "  ''No,"  he  replied,  "she  is  weak  from  hunger. 
All  our  children  are  always  hungry."  It  is  a  peculiar  fact  that  hunger 
and  harvest  have  the  same  root  in  the  Russian  tongue;  and  the  saddest 
music  I  have  ever  listened  to  is  the  song  of  the  Russian  reapers  as  they  come 
back  from  the  fields  after  harvest. 

Gentlemen,  we  are  about  to  enter  the  Christmas  season.  Each  will 
find  in  his  own  home  environment  a  new  reason  to  love  life,  a  new  incentive 
to  make  life  more  lovable  for  others;  and  my  prayer  to  you  tonight  is  that 
you  will  bear  in  mind  what  I  have  said  of  these  hungry  children  in  far  Russia, 
a  land  with  an  area  as  great  as  the  whole  North  American  continent,  and  as 
you  remember  these  other  children  always  hungry,  in  a  land  where  food 
should  be  plentiful,  you  should  ask  God  to  help  you  to  utilize  every  natural 
*  Today  known  as  the  Commercial  Exchange. 


221 

gift  in  your  possession,  to  the  end  that  the  law-abiding  spirit  of  our  people 
may  increase,  that  love  of  country  may  develop  a  spirit  of  statesmanship 
that  will  result  in  wise  laws,  and  that  a  movement  of  this  character,  having 
for  its  object  a  better  utilization  of  God's  great  gift  in  the  shape  of  fertile 
lands,  may  receive  from  you  your  best  efforts,  your  highest  energies,  so 
that  never  may  it  come  to  be  said  by  a  visitor  to  this  broad,  brave  land, 
that  our  children  are  always  hungry;  that  the  reapers  returning  from  the 
harvest  field  sing  a  song  that  wrings  the  heart  with  its  pathos  and  its 
despair. 

Mr.  Calwell:  Mr.  Cattell  has  emphasized  the  Corn  Exchange 
Bank.  But  I  didn't  know  he  was  going  to  do  it,  as  the  Corn  Exchange 
Bank  is  not  the  whole  thing  in  this  movement. 

On  the  front  of  this  programme  you  will  see  the  various  organizations 
in  this  city  who  have  taken  part  in  this  movement,  the  various  educa- 
tional societies  and  last,  but  not  least,  I  would  call  your  attention  to  the 
Pennsylvania  Rural  Progress  Association,  and  the  Philadelphia  Society 
for    Promoting    Agriculture. 

Mrs.  Smith  and  Mr.  Kates,  who  represent  those  associations,  have 
both  worked  very  hard  for  this  programme,  and  the  success  of  this  con- 
vention and  conference  is  in  great  part  due  to  their  efforts. 

Gentlemen,  I  thank  you  all. 

[Adjourned  to  8  p.  m.] 


Saturday,  December  6,  1913,  8  p.  m. 
Council  Chamber,  City  Hall,  Philadelphia. 


Mrs.  Smith,  Chairman:  As  this  conference  is  about  to  come  to  a 
close  I  would  like  to  say  a  few  words  to  you  as  to  how  this  conference 
came  to  be.  It  has  been  accomplished  through  the  co-operation  of  the 
Com  Exchange  Bank,  the  various  trades  bodies  of  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia, the  Philadelphia  Society  for  Promoting  Agriculture,  and  the  Penn- 
sylvania Rural  Progress  Association — all  represented  in  this  conference. 

I  want  to  ask  every  one  of  you  who  come  from  other  cities  to  take 
home  with  you  some  of  these  programmes,  and  we  would  like  to  call  the 
attention  of  the  various  chambers  of  commerce  and  bankers  of  your 
towns  to  this  conference  that  the  Pennsylvania  Rural  Progress  Association 
proposes  to  be  available  for  the  getting  up  of  other  conferences  such  as  this. 
Outside  of  Philadelphia  we  organized  a  conference  lasting  three  days  last 
spring  in  Williamsport,  in  co-operation  with  the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 
It  will  help  agricultural  progress  and  bring  the  city  and  country  in  closer 
touch  and  do  a  great  amount  of  good. 

So  let  me  tell  you  the  Rural  Progress  Association  of  Pennsylvania 
stands  ready  to  organize  conferences  of  this  sort  in  any  small  town  or 
large  town.  That  we  only  have  to  hear  from  the  people  in  order  to  come 
there  and  make  arrangements  to  make  up  a  programme  to  last  a  day,  an 
afternoon,  or  evening,  or  last  three  days  if  it  is  desired.  And  that  is  just 
what  we  hope  to  be  able  to  do  for  Pennsylvania,  to  bring  about  a  closer 
touch  between  the  town  and  the  markets  and  the  rural  districts. 

I  want  to  introduce  to  you  Mr.  Russell  R.  Lord,  of  Baltimore,  who 
will  speak  to  you  for  a  few  minutes. 


(222) 


DEMONSTRATION  OF  AGRICULTURAL  HIGH  SCHOOL 
METHODS  AND  RESULTS. 


By  Russell  R.  Lord,  Abram  Pearce  and  Lee  Parry, 

Three  Graduates  of  the  Sparks  (Md.)  Agricultural  High  School  and  Members  of  the 
Boys'  Committee  on  the  Oread  School  of  Country  Life. 


Russell  R.  Lord:  I  am  one-third  of  three  country  boys  who  have 
tackled  a  big  job, — a  kind  of  agricultural  threerring  circus  on  our  own 
hook.  Thi^  show  which  we  have  gotten  up  for  your  benefit  is  intended  to 
give  an  idea  of  some  of  the  methods  by  which  our  alma  mater — the  Agri- 
cultural High  School  at  Sparks,  Maryland, — has  succeeded  in  raising  the 
entire  countryside,  which  supports  it,  on  a  superior  plane.  In  the  five 
years  of  its  existence  it  has  made  grow  the  proverbial  two  blades  of  grass 
where  before  there  was  but  one;  better  still,  it  has  made  grow  two  thoughts 
where  before  there  was  but  one. 

Some  of  these  soil  experiments  which  we  bring  to  you  are  those  which 
performed  in  the  school  laboratory,  gave  rise  to  the  alarming  rumor  over 
the  farthermost  ends  of  our  county  that  ''they  don't  do  nothin'  at  Sparks 
but  make  mud  pies."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  much  of  our  soil  physics  demon- 
stration is  just  about  as  simple  and  easy  as  making  mud  pies.  But  I  believe 
that  you  will  see  a  very  real  method  in  our  madness.  And  perhaps  you 
will  begin  to  suspect,  before  we  finish  our  performance,  that  a  great  deal 
of  agricultural  high  schooling  is  play — and  blamed  interesting  play  at 
that.  I  am  almost  prepared  to  say  that  the  true  success  of  our  school  lay 
in  its  putting  everyone — old  and  young — to  playing  agriculture  profit- 
ably. Properly  played,  you  know,  the  game  of  farming  is  just  as  much 
fun  as  the  game  of  baseball. 

Aside  from  my  duties  as  ringmaster  of  this  show,  my  real  excuse  for 
being  on  my  feet  is  to  tell  you  of  my  short  experience  in  ''Making  Corn 
Make  Good."  It  is  neither  profound  nor  astonishing,  but  I  believe  that  I 
have  chanced  upon  some  figures  that  mean  dollars  in  or  out  of  the  pockets 
of  everyone  in  this  audience  who  grows  corn,  or  feeds  it,  or  eats  it  himself. 

Every  person  in  this  room,  as  well  as  every  ear  of  corn  on  our  demon- 
stration table,  has  been  shaped  by  two  great  fundamental  forces — environ- 
ment and  heredity.  Heredity  furnishes  the  material,  good  or  bad ;  environ- 
ment molds  it,  for  good  or  bad. 

As  in  the  case  of  people,  almost  all  the  attention  is  paid  to  the  en- 
vironment of  a  corn  crop.  Great  pains  is  taken  in  the  molding,  regard- 
less of  the  inherent  merit  or  demerit  of  the  material.  The  newest  method 
of  making  corn  make  good  might  well  be  called  corn  eugenics. 

(223) 


224 

A  great  many  of  you  know  the  story  of  '^ Boone  County  White." 
Its  introduction  into  our  county  by  our  school  has  resulted  in  an  annual 
increase  in  the  value  of  the  corn  crop  sufficient,  economists  figure,  to  pay 
for  the  school  every  year. 

My  experience  with  corn  started  in  1910  when,  with  four  other  fel- 
lows, I  ran,  as  my  summer  experiment  required  by  the  school,  a  variety 
test  plat.     The  following  were  the  results: 


''Boone  County  White" 

yielded 

14.8 

barrels 

per  acre. 

'^  Selection  77" 

ii 

13.2 

(( 

Cl                l( 

''Clarage" 

u 

12.2 

Cl 

U              li 

"Hybrid  100" 

'( 

10.2 

n 

(I         11 

Home  Grown  Seed  (Scrub) 

a 

10.0 

It 

11         li 

Selecting  seed-ears  from  my  Boone  County  White  test-plat,  I  planted 
them  in  my  contest  acre  the  following  year.  I  raised  13.2  barrels  from  that 
acre.  Every  ear  of  it  passed  through  my  hands,  and  the  result  was  about 
six  bushels  of  ears  of  almost  show  form.  By  elimination,  I  picked  the 
best  hundred  of  these,  then  the  best  fifty.  Scoring  this  fifty  carefully,  I 
got  the  best  twenty-five  ears,  and  numbered  them. 

This  brings  us  up  to  the  first  breeding  plat  I  ran,  and  forces  me  to 
pause  in  the  narration  of  what  I  did  and  tell  you  why  I  did  it. 

A  corn  seed  is  an  embryo;  an  egg  is  also  an  embryo.  Can  you  look 
at  an  egg  and  foretell  the  chick?  No.  Neither  can  you  look  at  corn 
and  prophesy  the  progeny.  '.'Like  begets  like,"  you  say,  and  high-class 
ears  should  produce  high-class  ears.  Perhaps.  But  is  there  anything  in 
the  appearance  of  an  ear  of  corn  that  accurately  indicates  its  power  of 
profitable  production?     Absolutely  nothing. 

All  of  these  carefully  picked  ears  which  I  had  selected  possessed  qual- 
ity. But  we  want  more  than  quality;  we  want  quantity,  for  after  all  that 
is  the  thing  that  fills  the  corn  crib.  The  twenty-five  selected  ears  looked 
good,  but  would  they  make  good?  I  did  not  know;  nobody  could  tell  me; 
I  had  to  try  and  see. 

So,  simply  said,  that  is  what  a  corn-pedigree  plat  is, — 'Ho  try  and 
see."  To  take  grains  from  the  best  ears  you  can  find— from  the  stand- 
point of  external  appearances — and  plant  them,  side  by  side,  under  equal 
conditions!  Then  to  measure  the  comparative  yields;  and  use  the  win- 
ners for  the  sires  and  grandsires  of  your  confields-to-come. 

With  this  end  in  view,  I  took  a  level,  uniform  piece  of  land  and  laid 
it  off  fifty  hills  square.  This  gave  me  fifty  corn-rows  of  equal  length  and 
worth  divided  up  into  fifty  equal  portions.  In  rows  Nos.  1,  3,  5,  7,  etc.,  I 
planted  assorted  seed  from  the  strongest  specimens  of  seed-ears'  I  could 
get.  In  rows  Nos.  2,  4,  6,  etc.,  I  planted  half  of  the  grain  from  ears  Nos. 
1,  2,  3,  etc.,  respectively.  When  these  ear-rows  came  into  tassel  the  tas- 
sels were  all  pulled  out  and  only  the  pollen  from  the  mixed  rows  allowed  to 
pollenize  the  tested  or  female  rows.  This  was  done  to  prevent  inbreeding 
and  consequent  deterioration. 


225 

In  the  fall  the  male,  or  mixed  rows,  were  first  gotten  out  of  the  way. 
This  simplified  the  plat  to  twenty-five  standing  lines  of  150  stalks,  each 
line  representing  the  producing  power  of  the  ear  whose  number  it  bore. 
The  rows  were  then  carefully  harvested  and  their  crop  weighed  separately. 
The  most  amazing  variation  lay  in  the  yields  of  the  seed  from  ears  Nos.  24 
and  25,  growing  side  by  side  under  environmental  conditions  as  identical 
as  it  is  possible  to  obtain.  No.  24  gave  230  pounds  of  cob  corn;  No.  25 
gave  but  72.6  pounds.  At  the  time  I  hesitated  in  emphasizing  this  great 
discrepancy,  thinking  it  might  perhaps  be  merely  a  freak,  but  since  then 
talks  with  authorities  and  a  repetition  of  the  result  in  another  breeding 
block  have  convinced  me  that  heredity  does  cause  just  such  enormous 
differences  in  yield — even  higher  than  400  per  cent  sometimes.  Here  is 
a  tremendous,  unseen,  unvarying  power  which,  controlled,  enables  a  man 
to  double  his  crops  and  then  double  them  again  without  even  touching  a 
plow  handle. 

With  these  results  in  hand,  I  saved  the  half-ears — (known  technically 
as  remnants) — which  had  performed  the  best.  Then  from  the  thirteen 
acre  cornfield  of  our  home  place  I  went  to  work  again  and  carefully 
selected  twenty-five  other  ears  after  the  manner  of  the  previous  year.  To 
add  to  the  interest  of  the  next  year's  work  I  took  care  to  thoroughly  exam- 
ine each  ear  and  accurately  score  it.  I  determined  the  percentage  of  ex- 
cellence of  the  ear  as  a  whole,  then  of  the  grain;  and  then  I  weighed  ear 
and  shelled  seed  for  the  percentage  of  ration  of  corn  to  cob.  These  three 
ratings  I  averaged  and  called  the  result  the  "average  apparent  excellence" 
of  the  ear.  My  motive  in  doing  this  was  to  try  and  see  if  any  relation 
really  existed  between  the  ''average  apparent  excellence"  of  a  seed-ear 
and  its  performance  in  pounds  in  the  field. 

I  planted  my  plat  of  1913  much  after  the  manner  of  that  of  1912, 
excepting  that,  instead  of  unknown  mixed  grain,  I  was  able  to  sire  it  with 
the  leading  1912  remnants  of  known  performance,  thus  obtaining  a  partial 
"double-pedigree"  system.  Here  (pointing  to  chart)  are  the  weighed 
results  of  this  year's  work: 

Copy  of  Chart  Displayed  in  Illustration  of  Making  Corn  Make  Good. 

Average  Apparent  Produced  Pounds 

Ear  Excellence  Per  Cent  Per  Stalk 

No.  1 74  .310 

"   2 81  .280 

"      3 84  .390 

"   4 94  .572 

"      5 86  .642 

"   6 87  .894 

"   7 89  .555 

"   8 .89  .703 

"9 91  .700           .   , 

"  10 92  .626 

"11 94  .678 

"12 94  .593 

-"  13 96  .553 

"  14 95  .571 

"15 93  .500 


226 

Copy  of  Chart  Displayed  inIIllustration  of  Making  Corn  Make 
Good. — Continued. 

Average  Apparent  Produced  Pounds 

Ear  Excellence  Per  Cent  Per  Stalk 

No.  16 92  ,600 

"    17 92  .643 

"18 91  .620 

"19 89  .567 

"20 88  .668 

"21 86  .500 

"22 86  .443 

"23 84  .724 

"24 83  .558 

"  25* 

*  Ear-Row  No.  25  thrown  out  because  of  extremely  poor  stand. 

You  will  notice  that,  following  the  advice  of  Dean  Hunt,  I  renum- 
bered my  ears  after  scoring  them,  making  my  best  apparent  ear  No.  13, 
my  next  best  No.  15  and  No.  12,  and  so  on,  the  two  lowest  scoring  ears 
being  No.  1  and  No.  25.  This  arrangement  does  not  seem  to  have  im- 
pressed itself  much  upon  the  rank  of  performance.  For  instance,  you 
will  notice  that  No.  24,  the  worst  scoring  ear  of  the  bunch,  outyielded  No. 
13,  the  best. 

This  time  the  extremes  come  a  trifle  closer  together.  The  best.  No. 
6,  produced  something  over  eight-tenths  of  a  pound  of  corn  and  cob  per 
stalk.  The  worst.  No.  2,  produced  but  little  over  two-tenths  of  a  pound. 
Still  a  difference  due  to  heredity  of  almost  four  hundred  per  cent. 

The  result  is,  as  you  see,  given  in  fractional,  or  rather  decimal  pounds. 
The  extreme  left-hand  column  represents  tenth-pounds,  the  middle  hun- 
dredth-pounds and  the  one  on  the  right  thousandth-pounds.  You  may 
imagine  that  this  is  splitting  hairs,  but  remember  this  is  per  stalk,  and  a 
cornfield  is  a  vast  forest  of  such  stalks. 

I  figure  that,  presuming  you  were  to  plant  an  acre  from  identical 
ears,  a  difference  of  one  figure  in  the  right-hand  column  means  a  difference 
of  ten  dollars'  worth  of  corn  in  the  resulting  crop;  that  a  difference  of  one 
unit  in  the  middle  column  means  a  gain  or  loss  of  a  dollar  on  the  acre;  and 
that  a  difference  of  one  in  the  third  column  means  ten  cents,  lost  or  gained. 

Take,  for  instance,  ears  Nos.  21  and  15.  Both  produced  an  even 
half-pound  per  stalk.  Ear  No.  16,  however,  which  looked  exactly  like  the 
rest,  produced  six-tenths  of  a  pound.  That  extra  tenth-pound  per  plant 
would  mean  that  a  man  would  make  ten  dollars  an  acre  by  planting  such 
as  it,  rather  than  such  as  Nos.  15  and  21,  or  their  inferiors.  And  if  he  had 
planted  all  such  as  these  (pointing  to  No.  9  yielding  .700)  he  would  have 
gained  twenty  dollars  per  acre,  and  this  (No.  6)  would  have  added  almost 
twenty  dollars  more  to  his  crop  income. 

It  is  perfectly  possible  to  plant  only  such  ears  as  this  No.  6,  and 
profit  thereby.  It  is  also  perfectly  possible  for  you  to  drift  along  as  you 
are  now  doing,  plantmg  24's  along  with  your  17's,  just  as  they  come,  and 
losing  hard,  cold  cash  thereby. 


227 

A  proper  environment  is  only  half  of  farming.  High  heredity  is  the 
other  half.  You  control  environment  to  your  profit.  You  can  likewise 
control  heredity.  It  is  no  easy  job.  But  it  is  a  job  well  worth  while  and 
something  which  you  will  all  come  to  sooner  or  later.  The  grab-bag  method 
of  selecting  seed  must  die  because  it  is  expensive  and  foolish.  And  if  you 
are  wise  you  will  start  now  to  prepare  for  your  cornfields  of  1914,  '15  and 

[Abram  Pearce  was  next  introduced  for  a  brief  talk  on  ''Winning  the 
Corn  Cup."  He  described  his  methods  of  securing  strong  seed,  and  the 
methods  which  he  followed  in  the  fertilization,  cultivation,  and  harvesting 
of  the  acre  of  corn  which  produced  the  highest  yield  at  the  lowest  cost  of 
any  in  Baltimore  County,  and  so  won  for  him  the  silver  loving  cup  offered 
through  the  Baltimore  County  Association  of  Boys'  Com  Clubs. 

As  the  President  of  the  County  Association,  he  was  further  able  to 
speak  interestingly  of  the  unique  system  of  boys'  club  work,  carried  on 
entirely  by  the  boys  themselves,  and  through  which  the  Agricultural 
High  School  has  been  able  to  make  its  influence  strongly  felt  at  points  far 
removed  from  the  Sparks  community.  Prolonged  applause  marked  the 
close  of  his  talk.] 

Russell  R.  Lord:  Now  comes  the  demonstrational  work.  In  ex- 
periments of  his  kind,  about  a  million  things  can  happen  that  you  never 
expected  to  happen.  Perhaps  some  of  these  things  have  already  hap- 
pened, and  if  some  of  the  stunts  don't  quite  work  out,  we  hope  that  you 
will  laugh  with  us  and  proceed  happily  on  to  the  next.  However,  every- 
thing looks  all  right  and  we  are  ready  to  start  it  off.  Lee  Parry  will  tell 
you  some  things  you  don't  know  about  a  generation  of  corn  while  Pearce 
and  I  will  work  the  demonstrational  end.     This  is  Lee  Parry. 

Lee  Parry:  As  you  have  already  heard,  the  ordinary  generation 
of  corn  starts  with  the  planting  of  the  seed  in  the  spring.  A  successful 
generation,  however,  should  start  several  seasons  back  of  that  in  careful 
selection  and  painstaking  upbuilding  of  a  good  strain  of  seed  of  a  variety 
ideally  adapted  to  the  personal  need  and  environment.  Assuming  that 
this  has  been  done— which  is  quite  a  bit  easier  than  doing  it — let  us  say 
that  we  now  have  a  bunch  of  ears  of  perfect  pedigree  from  which  we  desire 
to  select  the  most  promising  individuals  for  perpetuation.  I  have  here  [indi- 
cating a  display  of  about  a  bushel  of  ears  of  all  types  and  sizes]  a  bunch  of 
average  Boone  County  White  ears  picked  haphazard  from  a  corn-crib. 
Which  is  the  best?  Which  is  the  worst?  Why?  To  answer  these  ques- 
tions we  must  have  a  definite  and  concise  idea  of  what  an  ideal  ear  of  White 
Dent  corn  looks  like.  While  I  am  describing  this  ideal  ear,  the  other  boys 
will  judge  this  bunch  of  ears  and  pick  out  the  best. 

A  good  ear  of  corn  should  be  of  goodly  length,  cylindrical  in  profile, 
well  rounded  at  butt  and  tip  and  tapering  gently  throughout  its  length. 


228 

The  circumference  of  the  ear  should  be  at  least  75  per  cent  of  its  length  and 
the  depth  of  its  grain  at  least  half  the  diameter  of  its  cob.  Shelled,  the 
grain  should  occupy  as  much  space  as  did  the  ear  before  being  shelled. 
Furthermore,  the  ear  should  be  unmixed  in  grain  and  generally  true  to 
variety  and  type  characteristics.  It  must  look  like  an  aristocrat  to  the 
eye  trained  to  judge.  These  points  are  rather  sketchy,  but  they  should 
give  some  sort  of  mental  picture  of  the  real  thing  and  enable  you  to  judge 
whether  or  not  the  boys  have  picked  the  right  one.     Which  is  best,  fellows? 

[Best  ear  displayed  and  points  briefly  enumerated.] 

This  selection  of  seed-ears,  to  have  been  ideal,  would  have  taken  place 
in  the  early  fall.  The  next  thing  is  to  store  it  safely  away  from  vermin  and 
extremes  of  heat  and  cold.  Corn  stored  in  corn-cribs  usually  retains  some 
moisture  up  to  the  time  of  the  first  sharp  freezes.  These,  alternating  with 
early  thaws,  effectually  kill  the  germ  of  the  seed  and  render  it  useless  for 
perpetuation.  The  best  way  to  store  a  small  amount  of  seed  corn  is  to 
string  it  up  and  hang  it  away  in  some  place  protected  from  extremes  of 
temperature  and  the  best  way  we  know  of  stringing  it  up  is  the  way  Pearce 
and  Lord  are  now  illustrating. 

[Brief  demonstration  of  stringing  corn  by  the  double-string,  inter- 
lacing system.] 

Let's  now  imagine  the  winter  past  and  the  sun  shining  on  the  plowed 
fields.  It's  almost  corn-planting  time,  but  before  that  there  is  just  one 
more  little  trick  which  may  add  dollars  to  the  farmer's  pocketbook  and 
subtract  days  of  hot,  tiresome  replanting. 

1^^  This  little  afifair  [indicating  germination  box  in  various  stages  of  devel- 
opment] can  be  knocked  together  on  any  farm  in  ten  minutes.  Simply 
make  a  shallow  pan-like  box,  fill  it  with  clean  sand  or  sawdust,  divide  it 
into  squares  with  strings  and  you  are  ready  for  your  test  planting.  You 
can  see  from  the  way  the  boys  are  now  doing  it,  that  it  is  no  hard  task. 
Number  the  ears  under  test,  then  take  from  each  ear  six  grains — two  from 
the  tip,  two  from  the  middle  and  two  from  the  butt.  Plant  them  in  the 
moist  compartment  corresponding  to  their  number.  In  a  few  days  they 
will  sprout, — that  is,  some  of  them  will.  Discard  all  ears  which,  from  the 
six  sample  grains,  do  not  throw  out  at  least  five  strong  shoots.  Here 
[indicating  rag-doll  tester]  is  an  even  simpler,  but  less  satisfactory,  arrange- 
ment. By  distributing  these  among  the  rural  school  children  of  the  mid- 
dle West  it  is  claimed  that  millions  of  dollars  have  been  added  to  the  value 
of  the  crop.  It  is  also  claimed,  by  way  of  impressing  the  necessity  of 
planting  virile  seed,  that  for  every  dead  ear  planted  the  farmer  loses  four 
dollars. 

You  can  see  from  this  young  corn  plant  [taking  one  from  the  box 
for  examination]  that  the  stems  and  the  roots  grow  differently.     These 
red-ink  divisions  were  put  on  at  equal  distances.     Now,  a  few  days  later, 
you  can  see  that  while  those  on  the  roots  are  at  the  same  distance,  the ' 
others  have  stretched  apart  with  the  growth  of  the  stems. 


229 

Being  ready  to  plant  our  crop,  let  us  turn  for  a  moment  to  soils  in 
general  and  corn  soils  in  particular.  Soil  is  not  just  dirt.  It  is  a  wonder- 
fully interesting,  wonderfully  diversified,  wonderfully  vital  thing.  And  let 
me  tell  you  right  now,  it  takes  just  as  much  brains  to  handle  a  soil  properly 
as  it  does  to  handle  an  office  full  of  men. 

[Displaying  a  home-made  outfit  consisting  of  three  lamp  chimneys, 
filled  with  sand,  silt  and  clay,  and  their  ends  immersed  in  a  pan  of  water. 
It  can  be  seen  that  the  water  has  climbed  highest  in  the  clay,  and  lowest 
in  the  sand.] 

This  shows  the  absorbent  capacity  of  different  soils.  Water  is  the 
main  factor  in  the  environmental  success  or  failure  of  a  crop  of  corn. 
You  can  see  that  a  sandy  soil  is  liable  to  prove  deficient  in  this  necessity. 
Generally  speaking,  therefore,  a  clay  loam  is  best  for  corn.  The  reason 
the  water  has  climbed  higher  in  the  clay  than  in  the  sand  is  because  of 
the  smaller  pore  space.  Here  [displaying  a  set-up  apparatus  consisting 
simply  of  two  plates  of  window-glass  touching  at  one  end  and  divided  by 
a  broom  straw  at  the  other]  is  a  simple  affair  which  shows  the  thing  at 
a  glance.  Here  where  the  glasses  practically  touch,  the  water  has  crept  up 
all  the  way  to  the  top.  Here  where  they  are  divided  about  a  thirty- 
second  of  an  inch  by  this  broom  straw  you  will  see  scarcely  any  rise. 
The  tapering  line  as  the  space  increases  indicates  that  the  capillary  capac- 
ity of  a  soil  is  directly  proportional  to  its  pore  space. 

That  experiment  is  to  show  how  different  soils  take  up  water.  Here 
is  another  to  show  how  they  retain  it.  [Displaying  home-made  rack  hold- 
ing four  lamp  chimneys  containing  sand,  sand  and  manure,  clay,  clay  and 
manure.  Under  the  bottom  of  the  suspended  chimneys  are  glasses.  Water 
is  poured  in  at  the  top  and  allowed  to  seep  through  and  gather  in  the 
glasses.] 

You  will  notice  that  the  most  leachy  soil  is  the  sand.  Next  comes 
the  sand  and  manure,  third  the  clay  and  manure,  and  lastly,  the  clay. 
This  illustrates  well  the  curious  fact  that  manure  applied  to  a  sandy  soil 
makes  it  more  porous  and  to  a  clay  soil,  less  porous.  In  this  capacity  of 
regulating  the  water  supply  of  soils  of  different  texture,  manure  finds  a 
function  almost  as  important  as  its  fertilizing  power. 

These  next  two  experiments  serve  to  show  how  the  corn  plant  draws 
in  its  nourishment  through  the  roots.  All  that  is  taken  in  must  be  in 
solution.  When  two  liquids  are  separated  by  a  membrane,  the  less  dense 
will  pass  more  rapidly  through  the  membrane.  Minute  membranes  are 
at  the  point  of  every  root  and  the  soil  water  is  drawn  through  them  by 
force  of  the  stronger  sap  solution  within  the  plant.  The  technical  name 
for  this  process  is  "osmosis."  You  will  notice  that  here  [indicating  in- 
verted tube  partially  filled  with  red  liquid  and  separated  from  white  solu- 
tion by  parchment]  the  salt  solutions  within  the  thistle  tube  has  drawn  the 
thinner  liquid  through  the  membrane  and  raised  its  level.  Again,  see  how 
flabby  is  this  piece  of  potato  and  how  crisp  this  one  is.  One  was  immersed 
in  salt  solution  thicker  than  its  own  sap;   the  other  in  pure  water. 


230 

Difficulty  of  transportation  makes  this  the  next  to  last  of  our  experi- 
ments and  lack  of  time  forces  us  to  take  leave  of  our  subject.  But  you 
must  not  think  that  I  have  told  you  half  of  the  interesting  things  about  the 
most  interesting  American  crop.  Do  you  know  what  corn  silks  and  tassels 
are  for?  Do  you  know  anything  of  the  minute  structure  of  the  maize  ker- 
nel? Do  you  know  how  and  why  the  corn  leaves  roll  up  on  a  parching  hot 
day?  Do  you  even  know  why  it  is  that  when  you  plant  white  corn,  white 
corn  comes  up  and  when  you  plant  yellow,  up  comes  yellow?  If  you  know 
the  answer  to  this  last  question  and  can  expound  it  satisfactorily,  do  so,  for 
nobody  knows  at  present.  There  is  a  lot  to  be  learned  concerning  corn. 
There  is  a  lot  to  be  learned,  for  that  matter,  about  everything  rural.  And 
that's  what  makes  country  life  worth  while. 

And  here's  the  last  simple  experiment.  It  illustrates  why  the  farmer 
''works"  his  crops.  Take  a  plain  lump  of  sugar,  as  I  do,  sprinkle  its  top 
loosely  with  pulverized  sugar  and  dip  it  thus  in  ink.  You  see  how  quickly 
the  ink  rushes  up  to  the  top  of  the  compact  lump  and  how  quickly  it  stops, 
and  stays  stopped,  when  it  meets  the  loosely  piled  mulch  of  pulverized 
sugar.  That  top  layer  stops  up  the  pores,  and  keeps  the  soil  water  from 
evaporating  away.  This,  not  to  kill  the  weeds,  is  the  first  reason  why 
farmers  take  the  trouble  to  "work"  their  crop  four  or  five  times  during 
the  season. 

To  those  of  you  who  have  been  interested  in  this  little  show  of  ours, 
we  extend  invitation  to  visit  the  Agricultural  High  School  at  Sparks, 
Maryland,  at  any  time,  and  you  will  see  some  real  experiments.  And 
you  will  see  many  other  interesting  things.  Even  the  students  find  it  inter- 
esting. 

I  thank  you  for  your  interested  attention. 

[Experimental  portion  of  demonstration  and  corn  breeding  talk  was 
repeated  at  the  Philadelphia  Bourse  before  the  members  of  the  Grain 
Exchange.] 

Mrs.  Smith:  We  are  all  interested  in  successful  farming  and  I  will 
now  introduce  to  you  Mr.  Honeycutt,  of  Illinois,  who  is  going  to  speak  to 
us  this  evening  on  this  subject  from  a  business  standpoint. 


SUCCESSFUL  FARMING. 


By  John  P.  Honeycutt, 
Farmer,  Amboy,  Lee  County,  111. 


I  have  been  requested  to  discuss  a  subject  which  to  me  appears  to 
be  of  great  importance  to  the  average  individual  of  the  present  and  future 
generations.  Successful  operation  of  any  permanent  or  enduring  enter- 
prise depends  wholly  upon  the  average  net  dividends  from  the  labor  and 
expenses  of  conducting  the  business. 

How  to  make  the  farm  an  asset  instead  of  a  liability  is  a  problem 
that  is  engaging  the  attention  of  a  great  many  people  just  now.  In  fact 
it  is  causing  some  people  to  worry,  and  in  occasional  instances  individuals 
stand  up  and  point  the  finger  of  scorn  at  an  individual  milk  distributor, 
produce  dealer,  banker,  railroad  man  or  farmer,  and  say,  ''Thou  art  the 
man  who  is  getting  the  money,"  and  immediately  there  is  confusion,  if 
nothing  more  unseemly. 

Once  in  a  great  while  it  is  necessary  to  fight,  but  earnest,  careful,  di- 
rected work  and  a  pleasant  smile  are  always  in  order.  Let  us  smile  and 
work.  Personally  I  am  glad  that  I  am  alive,  and  I  have  great  confidence 
in  future  prosperity,  and  I  say  to  you  that  so  long  as  I  am  alive  I  am  not 
licked.  The  conditions  which  are  causing  so  much  complaint  are  the 
result  of  methods,  some  of  which  were  never  correct,  from  the  very  be- 
ginning, and  others  have  been  outgrown.  With  all  we  have  progressed 
and  prospered.  We  may  draw  a  long  face  and  cuss  the  government,  and 
all  our  commercial  organizations,  but  I  am  going  on  record  by  asserting 
the  United  States  of  America  has  the  best  form  of  government  and  is  the 
best  governed  country  on  the  face  of  the  earth  today.  We  make  mistakes, 
but  we  have  sense  enough  to  correct  them  without  wrecking  the  foundation. 
I  am  a  farmer  and  consider  it  an  honor  to  be  a  worker  in  this  most  an- 
cient occupation,  and  I  believe  there  is  a  prosperous  future  for  the  busi- 
ness farmer. 

The  story  of  the  beginning  of  the  industry  called  farming  interested 
me  exceedingly.  I  read  it  in  a  book  that  is  generally  conceded  to  be  good 
authority.  I  confess  it  has  been  quite  a  long  time  since  I  read  the  narra- 
tive but  as  I  now  recall  it,  two  of  our  excellent  most  ancient  ancestors 
made  a  total  failure  of  trying  to  live  a  life  of  leisure,  surrounded  by  every 
possible  luxury.  They  toiled  not,  neither  did  they  sweat.  No  matter 
what  the  reason,  they  failed,  and  suddenly  found  themselves  thrown 
''back  to  the  land,"  with  positive  injunction  to  make  farming  a  paying 
business,  with  the  assurance  that  if  they  worked  hard,  they  would  be 

(231) 


232 

able  to  enjoy  life,  and  lay  by  something  for  the  children.  Farm  bulletin 
No.  1  was  brief;  it  said,  ''Thou  shalt  eat  bread  by  the  sweat  of  thy  brow." 
This  sweating  talk  evidently  did  not  appeal  to  the  folks  as  being  in  any 
way  a  reasonable  proposition,  and  from  that  time  until  very  recently, 
most  people  have  been  leaving  the  old  homestead,  thereby  eliminating  the 
perspiration  method. 

This  side-stepping  and  evasion  of  the  great  work  of  production  has 
been  so  persistent  that  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Adam  have  gotten  so 
far  from  the  commissary  wagon  that  there  is  a  cry  of  distress  coming 
from  the  cities,  where  men  and  women  have  gathered  around  the  pretty 
bright  lights,  and  ''multiplied  all  right,"  but  have  failed  to  make  pro- 
vision for  replenishing  the  earth.  Consumers  have  increased  faster  than 
producers. 

I  congratulate  our  commercial  men  who  left  the  farm  to  build  cities, 
factories  and  railroads,  upon  the  excellence  of  their  achievements.  I 
look  with  wonder  and  amazement  upon  our  great  commercial  industries. 
It  has  been  the  work  of  giants,  and  never  could  have  been  accomplished 
without  almost  perfect  organization  and  system.  It  is  the  wonderful 
work  of  men,  who,  qualified  for  their  task,  that  has  drawn  a  surplus  of 
workers  to  the  great  manufacturing  centers.  In  fact  you  have  drafted 
a  surplus.  There  are  more  workers  today  in  the  great  cities  than  can  find 
employment. 

We  all  know  the  value  of  efficiency.  Without  accurate  practical 
knowledge  of  the  work  to  be  undertaken,  there  is  no  hope  of  successful 
results.  As  late  as  twenty-five  years  ago  there  was  hardly  a  factory  or 
enterprise  of  any  kind  that  could  tell  within  a  city  block  of  the  actual  cost 
of  manufacturing  an  article.  Today  there  is  not  one  worthy  the  name  of 
enterprise  that  cannot  estimate  the  exact  cost,  and  their  selling  price  is 
made  accordingly. 

While  the  vast  army  of  workers  have  been  qualifying  for  labor  in 
other  departments,  they  have  been  really  disqualifying  for  the  great  work 
of  actual  production.  For  more  than  twenty  years  I  had  an  opportunity 
to  observe  these  points  while  engaged  in  commercial  business  in  one  of 
the  greatest  cities  in  the  world.  Experience  and  observation  taught  me 
that  for  the  best  interests  of  this  wonderfully  great  country  of  ours,  more 
men  must  engage  in  the  business  of  farming,  and  that  it  would  be  profit- 
able for  me.  Do  you  get  that?  Business  of  farming  does  not  mean  the 
purchase  of  a  piece  of  land,  renting  it  to  someone  else,  and  then  trying  to 
tell  that  person  how  to  do  something  which  you  do  not  understand  your- 
self. It  does  mean  that  if  you  intend  to  make  a  success  of  farming,  you 
must  understand  the  branch  of  farming  you  undertake.  Find  out  in 
advance  the  crop  you  are  to  produce,  and  know  before  you  produce  it 
where  you  are  to  sell,  and  how  you  are  to  deliver  it  to  your  purchaser 
after  it  has  been  produced.  It  costs  real  money  to  buy  seed,  test  seed, 
prepare  the  seed  bed,  and  to  plant  the  aforesaid  seed.     As  soon  as  this 


233 

same  seed  is  planted  it  costs  some  more  real  money  to  cultivate  and  care 
for  the  growing  crop  until  it  is  ready  to  harvest,  then  more  real  coin  to 
gather  and  transport  the  crop  to  the  railroad  station  and  load  it  into  the 
car.  You  may  not  have  thought  of  it,  but  the  railroads  require  you  to 
pay  them  some  more  of  the  medium  of  exchange  to  carry  your  product 
to  their  freight  house  in  the  city.  You  have  invested  a  considerable  sum 
of  money  in  land  and  farming  implements  prior  to  seeding  time,  and  you 
are  still  the  owner  of  a  perfectly  good  crop  of  something  which  the  non-pro- 
ducing consumer  must  eventually  consume. 

Your  crop  is  now  in  the  city  and  under  the  conditions  which  prevail 
today  you  have  the  choice  of  seeking  a  buyer  and  after  making  a  bargain 
mutually  agreeable,  well  scarcely,  but  after  agreeing  to  accept  the  price 
he  offers,  you  can  deliver  the  goods  to  him  and  apply  the  proceeds,  or 
you  have  the  alternative  of  disposing  of  the  crop  at  the  freight  house  to  a 
commission  man  or  distributor,  who  is  prepared  and  equipped  to  deliver  it 
to  the  consumer.  You  receive  from  the  commission  man  or  distributor 
the  '^ market."  The  consumer  now  may  deal  with  the  interests  which 
have  a  "system"  for  holding  and  delivering  economically.  Here  is  a 
place  in  this  narrative  for  you  to  smile  if  you  are  a  producer,  and  think. 
Think  hard,  get  in  touch  with  other  producers  and  devise  ways  and  means. 
There  is  a  way.  We  need  the  railroads,  and  every  other  large  industry. 
We  need  more  railroads  and  more  big  industries.  We  need  distributors, 
but  farmers  must  have  a  system.  Think  out  a  system.  Talk  it  over  with 
everyone  who  is  interested.  It  will  take  a  long  time  to  remedy  these 
things,  but  we  can  do  it,  don't  back  down.  Farmers  are  the  salt  of  the 
earth,  the  foundation  and  support  of  every  enterprise  of  whatever  name  or 
nature.  Get  busy  and  form  local  organizations,  and  work  systematically. 
There  is  no  reason  to  be  discouraged.  Call  on  your  boys  for  assistance 
in  the  work  of  organizing  and  systematizing  your  work  on  the  farm. 
Send  them  to  the  Agricultural  Schools,  where  they  will  learn  how  to  think 
and  plan.  Many  of  your  methods  are  obsolete,  and  while  your  experience 
is  of  great  value,  yet  the  boy,  with  his  enthusiasm  and  strength  of  youth, 
will  be  able  to  suggest  and  assist  in  carrying  out  a  new  and  more  effective 
method,  when  he  returns  from  school.  Put  the  government  bulletins  and 
experiment  station  work  in  his  hands.  We  have  found  them  of  great  value 
in  our  work  on  Green  River  Stock  Farm. 

Farmers  have,  ever  since  I  can  remember,  been  pleased  to  call  them- 
selves ''Independent  Farmers,"  then  smite  their  thigh  and  look  wise. 
Independent  means  standing  alone,  and  that  is  just  the  reason  you  are 
getting  pushed  and  jostled  and  despoiled  today.  Other  men  recognize 
the  value  of  organized  systematic  work,  hence  we  have  the  Board  of  Trade, 
Wholesale  Dealers'  Association,  Retail  Dealers'  Association,  Produce 
Exchange,  Bankers'  Associations.  Every  craft  worthy  the  name  has  an 
organization  which  is  affiliated  with  a  National  Organization,  and  here 
are  the  grand  old  farmers  still  plodding  along  and  bearing  the  burden  alone. 


234 

Cheer  up,  fellows,  get  into  something.  There  are  several  depart- 
ments of  producers  who  have  been  organized  after  a  fashion  for  a  long 
time.  Join  with  them,  then  adopt  the  best  method  for  increasing  your 
production,  and  work  to  solve  the  marketing  problem. 

Mrs.  Smith:  Be  on  the  lookout  for  articles  by  Mr.  Honeycutt  in 
the  Country  Gentleman.  That  is  where  we  were  introduced  to  Mr.  Honey- 
cutt. 

Let  me  introduce  to  you  Mr.  Gifford  Pinchot,  who  is  with  us  and  will 
speak  to  us  on  Agricultural  Co-operation. 


AGRICULTURAL  CO-OPERATION. 


By  the  Hon.  Gifford  Pinchot, 
Milford,  Penna. 


I  think  it  would  be  hard  to  find  anywhere  deeper  interest  in  country 
life  than  you  have  shown  in  this  conference. 

As  I  read  history  it  was  not  the  decadence  of  the  city  that  destroyed 
Rome.  It  was  the  gradual  sinking  of  life  in  the  open  country,  together 
with  the  existing  slave  system  of  those  days.  Gradually,  the  man  who 
worked  on  the  land  came  to  be  ranked  as  a  piece  of  agricultural  machin- 
ery, and  as  his  status  dropped  it  took  with  it  the  sterling  qualities  of  vigor 
from  the  town,  because  all  of  us  Imow  that  much  of  the  best  blood  of  the 
city  comes  in  a  continual  stream  from  out  of  the  country. 

This  co-operative  movement  rests  on  a  new  conception  as  to  what 
life  on  the  farm  means.  For  years  and  years  we  prided  ourselves  because 
we  did  more  for  the  farmers,  and  did  it  more  effectively,  than  any  other 
nation  in  the  world,  and  it  was  true  in  a  sense.  Through  our  Agricultural 
Department  in  Washington,  our  Agricultural  Departments  in  the  States, 
our  Experiment  Stations,  and  Agricultural  Colleges,  we  were  spending 
money  more  rapidly  than  any  other  nation  in  the  world,  and  all  this 
almost  wholly  to  help  the  farmer  to  grow  better  crops.  We  have  been  deal- 
ing with  the  farmer  and  the  farmer's  wife  as  men  and  women  whose  sole 
function  was  to  produce  food  for  others  to  eat,  and  incidentally  getting 
enough  food  for  their  own  needs.  But  we  are  learning  slowly  that  it  is 
just  as  important  to  help  him  get  the  best  possible  returns  for  the  crops 
he  grows,  and  to  utilize  those  returns  so  as  to  make  them  yield  him  the 
best  and  happiest  life.  The  problem  is  not  merely  to  get  better  crops,  not 
merely  to  dispose  of  crops  better,  but  in  the  last  analysis  to  have  happier 
and  richer  lives  of  men  and  women  on  the  farm. 

There  are  certain  things  I  would  like  to  call  to  your  attention  about 
the  condition  of  farming  in  the  United  States  and  the  tendencies  which 
mark  it  just  now.  During  the  last  census  period,  1900-1910,  the  popula- 
tion of  the  United  States  increased  21  per  cent,  but  the  food  production 
increased  only  10  per  cent.  In  other  words,  we  were  adding  people  to 
our  population  twice  as  fast  as  we  were  adding  food  to  our  food  supply, 
and  it  was  no  wonder  the  cost  of  food  rose.  What  a  farmer  was  getting 
$1.00  for  in  1900,  he  got  $1.67  in  1910.  The  average  price  of  farm  prod- 
ucts had  risen  in  ten  years  67  per  cent.  Yet,  taking  the  farming 
population  by  and  large,  in  spite  of  this  marvelous  increase  in  what  he 
got  for  his  crops,  the  farmer  has  not  been  nearly  as  prosperous  in  the  last 

(235) 


236 

ten  years  as  he  ought  to  have  been,  and  he  is  not  now.  Why?  One  reason 
is  that  out  of  every  dollar  the  consumer  spends  for  farm  products  the 
farmer  gets  less  than  fifty  cents.  Where  does  the  other  fifty  cents  go? 
It  goes  to  the  railroads  and  the  middlemen,  and  to  the  legitimate  cost 
of  distribution.  Now  if  it  is  true  that  the  best  the  present  system  of  dis- 
tribution can  do  is  to  double  the  cost  of  the  farmer's  products  to  the  con- 
sumer, then  it  is  certainly  a  very  inefficient  system.  If  it  costs  as  much 
to  get  a  pound  of  butter  to  the  consumer  as  it  does  to  make  it,  then  it  is  a 
bad  system  and  no  mistake.  We  in  the  United  States  are  just  awakening 
to  a  real  appreciation  of  the  benefits  of  co-operation  in  agriculture. 

Farmers  in  Ireland,  Denmark,  Holland  and  Belgium  have  had  their 
hard  times  when  the  industry  was  in  such  a  condition  that  man  could 
hardly  live  off  of  it.  In  Ireland  there  were  whole  counties  in  which  the 
average  cash  income  of  a  farmer's  family  was  only  $25.00  a  year.  It 
sounds  incredible,  but  it  is  true.  Then  a  man  came  back  to  Ireland  from 
Wyoming,  where  he  had  been  a  cow-puncher — I  mean  Sir  Horace  Plun- 
kett — and  he  said  to  the  Irish  farmer,  ''I  know  what  is  the  matter  with 
you,  you  are  unorganized,  and  everywhere  in  the  world  it  is  the  unorgan- 
ized man  that  pays  the  bill."  Then  in  little  Ireland  they  began  to  organize. 
Ireland  is  a  very  small  country,  yet  already  100,000  farmers  are  organized 
there.  Their  co-operative  societies  do  an  annual  business  of  $16,000,000 
to  $17,000,000,  and  they  have  completely  changed  the  whole  face  of  agri- 
cultural Ireland. 

The  city  is  organized,  the  railroads  are  organized,  the  interest  to 
which  the  farmer  sells  his  product,  and  the  interests  from  which  he  buys 
the  things  he  needs  are  all  organized.  The  farmer  is  the  one  great  class 
in  the  United  States  today  that  remains  unorganized.  There  has  been  a 
good  deal  of  work  done  in  this  matter  of  farm  organization  in  this  country, 
and  while  I  am  not  urging  any  farmers  to  rush  into  organization,  I  do 
believe  that  when  the  pinch  comes,  as  come  it  must,  agricultural  organi- 
zation is  the  way  out.  It  has  failed  in  individual  cases  all  over  this  country, 
partly  because  the  farmers  have  not  realized  that  it  takes  just  as  good  a 
business  man  to  run  the  business  of  co-operative  organization  as  it  does 
to  run  any  other;  partly  because  they  have  allowed  other  men  to  organ- 
ize them,  and  the  organization  was  directed  mainly  toward  the  welfare 
of  someone  else.  It  has  not  been  driven  into  the  farmer's  mind  yet  with 
sufficient  clearness  that  co-operation  in  the  real  sense  does  not  mean  a 
joint  stock  enterprise  where  the  voting  power  goes  with  the  stock,  but  it 
does  mean  an  enterprise  where  every  man  has  the  same  voting  power 
irrespective  of  the  amount  of  his  stock.  In  other  words,  an  organization 
to  be  successful  must  be  controlled  by  men,  not  by  money.  Organization 
is  a  powerful  weapon,  but  like  any  other  powerful  weapon  it  is  dangerous 
as  well  as  powerful,  and  unless  it  is  rightly  used  it  will  do  no  good.  But 
the  time  is  coming  when  in  this  country,  as  almost  everywhere  in  Europe, 
farmers  will  attend  to  their  own  matters  of  credit,  to  their  own  matters 


237 

of  production,  shipment  of  their  product,  and  its  disposition,  so  that  in 
the  end  we  shall  have  the  farmer,  through  his  organization,  dealing  much 
more  directly  with  the  consumer  than  he  does  now.  It  will  put  a  lot  of 
the  middlemen  out  of  business,  and  I  think  that  will  be  a  good  thing. 
Some  think  that  agricultural  co-operation  will  have  an  injurious  effect 
on  the  country  towns.  I  believe  that  whatever  makes  the  farmers  more 
prosperous  will  make  the  country  town  that  supplies  the  farmer's  needs 
more  prosperous.  In  my  mind,  the  cure  for  much  that  the  farmer  suffers 
because  he  is  not  organized,  because  he  does  not  get  a  fair  share  of  what 
he  produces,  is  agricultural  co-operation  properly  applied. 

The  attention  of  the  nation  has  been  fixed  on  better  business,  better 
methods  of  work,  better  living  conditions  in  the  towns.  We  are  beginning 
to  understand  that  better  living  is  just  as  important  on  the  farm,  and  that 
we  must  recognize  the  farmer  and  his  wife  as  a  most  useful  part  of  our 
population.  We  shall  then  have  a  greater  appreciation  of  what  this  meet- 
ing means,  for  I  Ihink  we  can  all  put  it  down  as  an  absolute  fact  that  no 
matter  how  useful  a  man  may  be  in  town,  the  most  useful  citizen  of  any 
republic  is  now,  and  must  always  continue  to  be,  the  man  who  owns  and 
tills  the  soil  from  which  he  makes  his  living. 


THE   MOST   IMPORTANT   FACTORS   IN   SUCCESSFUL   FARM- 
ING,  IN  RELATION  TO  DOLLARS  AND   CENTS. 


By  G.  F.  Warren, 
Professor  of  Farm  Management,  Cornell  University,  N.  Y. 


During  the  past  six  years  we  have  been  securing  records  from  farmers 
in  New  York  State  of  their  capital  and  business  receipts  and  expenses  in 
order  to  find  out  how  much  farmers  are  making  and  how  it  is  that  some 
men  are  making  more  than  others.  During  this  time  we  have  obtained 
records  of  2917  farms. 

From  seven  years'  study  of  this  question  we  have  determined  the  rela- 
tive importance  of  different  factors  on  profits. 

Labor  Income  Defined. 
In  order  to  understand  this  discussion,  it  will  be  necessary  to  know 
what  is  meant  by  labor  income.  By  this  we  mean  the  amount  of  money 
that  the  farmer  has  made  in  addition  to  interest  on  his  capital.  It  corre- 
sponds to  a  hired  man's  wages  when  the  hired  man  receives  a  house  and 
some  farm  products. 

Table  1  shows  the  averages  for  Tompkins  County.*  .The  average 
capital  on  these  farms  was  $5527.  This  includes  land,  buildings,  stock, 
machinery,  tools,  feed  and  seed  on  April  1st  and  cash  to  run  the  farm. 
The  average  receipts  for  the  year  were  $1146.  Any  unsold  products  or 
increase  in  animals  is  counted  as  a  receipt.  The  average  expenses  were 
$389.  This  includes  all  business  or  farm  expenses.  It  does  not  include 
any  personal  expenses,  but  includes  the  value  of  board  furnished  to  hired 
help. 

Table  1. — Averages,  Tompkins  County. 

Number  of  farms 615 

Average  capital $5,527 

Average  receipts 1,146 

Average  business  expenses 389 

Receipts  less  expenses 757 

Interest  at  5  per  cent 276 

Income  frota  unpaid  labor 481 

Value  of  unpaid  labor  except  owner's 58 

Labor  income 423 

The  difference  between  the  receipts  and  expenses  averaged  $757. 

*  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  methods  of  work  and  other  conclusions,  see  Bulletin  295  of  the  Cornell 
Experiment  Station. 

The  purpose  of  this  work  is  not  to  compare  farming  with  city  work,  but  to  study  the  relation  of 
various  factors  to  profits  in  farming.  The  hired  man  and  the  farmer  get  many  farm  products  from  the 
farm.  These  and  very  many  other  factors  must  be  considered  in  order  to  compare  farming  with  city 
work.  Labor  income  is  an  excellent  means  of  measuring  the  success  of  a  farmer  as  it  is  directly  com- 
parable with  hired  man's  wages  when  the  man  gets  a  house  and  farm  products. 

(238) 


239 

This  $757  was  earned  by  the  farmer's  money  and  the  work  of  the 
family.  Money  can  readily  be  loaned  on  farm  mortgages  at  5  per  cent. 
Hence,  only  $481  can  be  said  to  have  been  earned  by  the  labor  of  the  farmer 
and  his  family.  The  unpaid  farm  labor  by  members  of  the  family  would 
have  cost  about  $58  if  it  had  been  hired.  The  farmer  really  earned  as  his 
wages,  $423.  This  we  call  his  labor  income.  Hired  men  in  this  region 
get  about  $360,  house  rent,  and  some  farm  products.  If  a  farmer's  labor 
income  is  less  than  this,  he  might  as  well  lend  his  money  and  hire  out. 

About  one-third  of  the  farmers  in  Tompkins  County  are  making 
less  than  hired  men's  wages;  one-third  are  making  wages;  and  one-third 
make  more  than  wages. 

Table  2  shows  the  same  results  for  Livingston  County.  The  region 
is  a  very  prosperous  one  and  gives  an  average  labor  income  of  $584. 

Table  2. — ^Averages,  Livingston  County. 

Number  of  farms 674 

Average  capital $10,548 

Average  receipts 2,172 

Average  business  expenses 980 

Receipts  less  expenses 1,192 

Interest  at  5  per  cent 627 

Income  from  unpaid  labor 665 

Value  of  unpaid  labor  except  owner's 81 

Labor  income 684 

Most  Important  Factors  Affecting  Profits. 

The  four  most  important  factors  affecting  profits  have  been  found 
to  be  size  of  business,  crop  yields,  production  per  cow  or  other  important 
kind  of  animals,  and  diversity  of  the  business.  So  strikingly  do  these  four 
factors  stand  out  that  if  we  know  them  we  can  guess  the  labor  income 
with  approximate  accuracy  in  about  95  per  cent  of  the  cases.  Only  in  a 
few  cases  do  practical  farmers  make  other  mistakes  of  so  serious  a  nature 
as  to  prevent  them  from  getting  a  good  labor  income  when  these  four 
factors  are  favorable. 

Farms  Not  Balanced. — Farmers  are  like  other  people,  they  have  hob- 
bies. There  is  practically  no  relationship  between  good  cows  and  good 
crops  or  between  size  of  the  farm  and  production  of  crops  or  cows.  We 
find  that  the  farmers  who  have  the  best  cows  average  very  little  above  their 
neighbors  in  crop  yields.  Because  the  crops  are  good  gives  no  indication 
of  whether  the  cows  are  good  or  bad.  On  the  average,  there  is  practically 
no  relation  between  the  size  of  the  farm  and  quality  of  the  crops  or  cows. 
As  a  result  we  have  all  kinds  of  combinations  of  the  factors  of  profits. 
There  are  very  few  farms  that  rank  well  in  each  of  the  four  respects. 

Size  of  Business. 
Ways  of  Measuring  Size. — There  are  many  ways  in  which  the  size 
of  the  business  may  be  measured.     Farms  may  be  compared  on  number  of 


^40 


days  of  work  done,  number  of  men  kept,  amount  of  capital  invested,  num- 
ber of  cows  or  other  animals  kept,  number  of  work  animals,  number  of 
acres  of  laird,  or  acres  of  crops  grown.  So  long  as  we  are  dealing  with  fairly 
uniform  conditions,  each  of  these  comparisons  will  give  about  the  same 
results,  as  an  average  of  large  numbers.  But  when  a  particular  farm  is 
considered,  it  may  be  placed  in  a  different  class  when  the  method  of  sorting 
is  changed. 

Relation  of  Capital  to  Profits. — Tables  3,  4,  5  and  6  show  the  relation 
of  capital  to  profits.  The  farmers  in  either  of  these  counties  who  do  not 
have  a  capital  of  at  least  $5000,  are  not  doing  as  well  as  hired  men.  In 
Tompkins  County  over  one-third  of  the  farmers  had  less  than  $4000 
capital,  but  not  one  of  these  made  a  labor  income  of  $1000.  About  two- 
fifths  of  the  men  with  $10,000  capital  made  over  $1000  labor  income. 
The  figures  for  all  the  other  regions  show  the  same  results. 

Table  3. — Relation  of  Capital  to  Profits. 
615  farms  operated  by  owners,  Tompkins  County,  New  York. 

Number  of  Average 

Capital.  farms.  labor  income. 

$2,000  or  less 36  $192 

2,001-  4,000 200  240 

4,001-  6,000 183  399 

6,001-  8,000 94  530 

8,001-10,000 45  639 

10,001-15,000 44  870 

Over  15,000 13  1,164 


Table  4. — Relation  of  Capital  to  Profits. 
615  farms  operated  by  owners. 

Number  of 
Capital.  farmers. 

$2,000  or  less 36 

2,001-  4,000 200 

4,001-  6,000 183 

6,001-  8,000 94 

8,001-10,000 45 

10,001-15,000 44 

Over  15,000 13 


Per  cent  of  the 

farmers  making 

labor  incomes 

of  over  $1000. 

.    0 

0 

8 
14 
22 
32 
46 


Table  5. — Capital  Related  to  Labor  Income. 
578  farms,  Northern  Livingston  County,  New  York. 

Number  of  Average 

Capital.  farms.  labor  income. 

$5,000  or  less 87  $291 

5,001-  7,500 80  407 

7,501-10,000 112  480 

10,001-15,000 164  769 

15,001-20,000 62  1,001 

20,001-30,000 55  1,062 

Over  30,000 18  1,691 


241 

Table  6. — Relation  of  Capital  to  Profits. 
578  farms,  Northern  Livingston  County,  New  York. 

Per  cent  of  the 
farmers  making 
labor  incomes 
Capital.  of    over    $1000. 

$5,000  or  less 7 

5,001-  7,500 11 

7,501-10,000 16 

10,001-15,000 33 

15,001-20,000 46 

20,001-30,000 " 51 

Over  30,000 50 

Relation  of  Amount  of  Labor  Employed  to  Profits. — If  we  measure  size 
of  business  by  number  of  men  or  total  value  of  labor  directed,  we  find  the 
same  comparisons.  Those  farmers  who  do  not  direct  at  least  one  man 
besides  themselves  do  not,  on  the  average,  earn  much  more  than  farm 
wages.  Table  7  gives  such  a  comparison  for  Tompkins  County,  New  York. 
The  total  value  of  labor  directed  includes  the  farmer's  labor  estimated  at 
$326  for  the  year,  this  being  the  average  price  that  farmers  estimated  it 
would  cost  to  hire  the  labor  done.  If  the  total  labor  directed  does  not  equal 
about  $650  to  $700,  the  farm  does  not  employ  one  man  for  full  time  besides 
the  farmer. 

Table  7. — Relation  of  Labor  to  Profits. 

Value  of 
total  labor  Labor  income. 

$347  $288 

426  ^  332 

557  ^*432 

730  r  534 

960  P  721 

1,307  1,194 

Relation  of  Size  of  Farm  to  Profits. — A  better  measure  of  size  of  busi- 
ness is  the  acres  farmed  or  better  still  the  acres  of  crops  grown.  Tables 
8  and  9  give  such  comparisons  for  general  farming  where  hay,  grain,  pota- 
toes, cabbage,  apples  are  the  usual  crops  and  where  a  considerable  propor- 
tion of  the  persons  keep  dairy  cows. 

Table  8. — Size  of  Farm  Related  to  Profits. 
586  farms,  Tompkins  County,  New  York. 

Number  of  Average  size  Average  tillable      Labor 
Acres.  farms.  (acres).        area  (acres).        income. 

30  or  less 30  21  18  $168 

31-60 108  49  38  254 

61-100 214  83  60  373 

101-150 143  •    124  88  436 

151-200. 57  177  117  635 

Over  200 34  261  160  946 

Average 103  $415 


242 

Table  9. — Size  of  Farm  Related  to  Profits. 
578  farms,  Livingston  County,  New  York. 

Number  of     Average  size  Tillable  area  Labor 

Acres  farmed.  farms.  (acres).  (acres).  income. 

30  or  less 17  20  17  $54 

31-50 35  43  37  295 

51-100 147  79  64  437 

101-150 178  127  104  593 

151-200 89  175  142  934 

Over  200 112  305  241  1,082 

In  these  regions  the  average  farmer  with  less  than  50  acres  would 
make  more  money  if  he  sold  his  farm,  loaned  his  money  and  hired  out  as  a 
farm  laborer,  or  better  yet,  be  a  tenant  on  a  larger  farm,  or  many  of  them 
might  better  go  in  debt  for  a  large  farm  and  own  it. 

Comparatively  few  farmers  with  less  than  100  acres  made  very  good 
profits.  Of  the  551  farmers  who  farmed  100  acres  or  less,  only  six  made 
labor  incomes  of  $1500.  But  of  292  farmers  who  farmed  over  150  acres, 
60  made  over  $1500. 

Relation  of  Acres  of  Crops  to  Profits. — A  still  better  way  of  measuring 
size  is  to  compare  the  area  of  crops  grown.  This  includes  all  harvested 
crops  but  does  not  include  pasture.    Table  10  gives  such  a  comparison. 

Table  10. — Relation  of  Acres  of  Crops  to  Labor  Income. 

Average      Number  of 
Acres  of  crops.  acres  crops  farm.        Labor  income. 

'20  or  less 14  18  $24 

21-  40. 31  55  257 

41-60 51  95  400 

61-80 69  115  481 

81-100 90  96  642 

101-140 118  112  937 

Over  140 193  88  1,261 

Most  of  the  economics  in  production  are  dependent  on  the  area  of 
crops  grown.  Five  horses  can  raise  100  to  125  acres  of  general  farm  crops 
when  the  crops  consist  of  a  good  combination  of  grain,  hay  and  potatoes, 
apples  or  cabbage.  If  the  crops  are  of  the  above  kinds,  there  should  be  at 
least  20  acres  per  horse,  but  if  they  are  hay  and  grain,  there  should  be  at 
least  30  acres  per  horse.  In  the  eastern  states,  the  cost  of  horse  labor  per 
acre  is  more  than  the  interest  on  the  land.  While  five  horses  can  raise 
125  acres  of  crops,  it  is  difficult  to  raise  50  acres  of  crops  with  two  horses. 
Farm  machinery  is  built  on  the  2,  3  and  4-horse  basis.  Evidently  if  one 
has  less  than  80  acres  of  crops,  he  must  go  without  good  machinery  or  must 
keep  too  many  horses.     There  is  no  solution  of  the  problem  for  him. 

Machinery,  horses  and  labor  cannot  be  used  efficiently  with  less  than 
80  to  100  acres  of  crops,  200  acres  is  still  better.  The  various  reasons 
for  this  have  been  published  elsewhere.  In  this  discussion,  it  is  sufficient 
to  see  that  size  of  business  is  very  important  and  that  crop  acres  is  one  of 
the  best  measures  of  size. 


243 

The  time  spent  in  growing  even  an  average  crop  in  reasonable  areas 
pays  the  highest  wages  of  any  farm  work.  If  a  farmer  has  a  large  area  of 
crops,  it  not  only  indicates  a  good  sized  business,  but  indicates  that  the 
farmer  is  doing  a  large  amount  of  work  that  pays  well. 

Crop  Yields. 
Increased  yield  per  acre  is  important  but  not  nearly  so  important  as  is 
usually  assumed.     Table  11  shows  the  relation  of  yield  to  labor  income, 
when  100  per  cent  represents  the  average  yield  of  the  region. 

Table  11. — Relation  of  Crop  Yields  to  Labor  Income. 
574  farms. 

Percentage  Average      Number  of  Labor 

yield.  percentage  farms.  income. 

75  or  less 67  58  $165 

76-85 81  60  219 

86-95 ^ 90  102  663 

96-105 •. 101  116  570 

106-115 110  103  878 

116-125 120  66  951 

Over  125 138  69  1,090 

An  increased  yield  per  acre  makes  the  business  larger  and  if  not  carried 
too  far  is  a  good  thing.  After  one  secures  yields  of  perhaps  a  fifth  better 
than  the  neighbors  on  the  same  soil,  he  must  be  careful  that  his  cost  per 
bushel  for  the  increased  crop  is  not  more  than  the  crop  is  worth.  If  the 
neighbors  on  the  same  soil  get  one  and  a  half  tons  of  hay  per  acre,  it  may 
pay  to  grow  two  tons.  If  under  these  conditions  one  wishes  three  tons,  it 
can  usually  be  grown  at  less  cost  per  ton  on  two  acres  than  on  one  acre. 
This  is  the  reason  why  the  acres  of  crops  have  more  influence  on  profits 
than  does  the  yield  per  acre. 

Production  Per  Cow. 
All  dairy  products  are  produced  on  a  very  close  margin  of  profit. 
It  is  very  easy  to  feed  cows  so  as  to  lose  all  that  one  has  made  by  raising 
crops.  Table  12  shows  the  relation  of  receipts  per  cow  to  profits.  Those 
farmers  who  get  over  $75  per  cow  are  the  only  ones  who  are  making  good 
labor  incomes.  In  this  case,  $75  per  cow  indicates  about  6000  pounds  of 
milk. 

Table  12. — Receipts  per  Cow  Related  to  Profits,  Tompkins  County, 

New  York. 

Number  of 
Receipts  per  cow.  farms.  Labor  income. 

$30  or  less 18  $30 

31-50 97  316 

51-75 106  483 

76-100 53  715 

Over  100 33  1,325 

It  will  be  seen  that  farmers  who  get  average  crops  are  often  doing 
very  well  but  that  it  takes  much  better  than  average  cows  to  pay. 


244 

Diversity. 

If  a  farmer  raises  nothing  but  crops,  he  usually  wastes  considerable 
material  that  could  be  used  to  a  profit  to  feed  animals.  He  is  also  likely 
to  find  it  more  difficult  to  keep  men  and  horses  busy  all  the  year. 

If  he  raises  animals  only,  he  spends  all  his  time  on  the  farm  enter- 
prise that  is  less  likely  to  pay  good  wages.  He  does  not  get  so  much  for 
his  manure  because  a  heavy  application  on  one  acre  does  not  usually  bring 
as  good  returns  per  ton  as  if  spread  on  two  acres.  Nor  is  he  so  likely  to 
keep  horses  and  men  fully  employed.  To  care  for  a  dozen  cows  is  about 
half  work  for  a  man.  A  man  will  do  this  and  raise  the  cows'  feed  and  cash 
crops  to  sell  besides.  Table  13  shows  such  a  comparison.  The  farmers  who 
combine  cash  crops  and  stock  make  more  than  those  who  go  to  either 
extreme. 

Table  13. — Diversified  Farming  Related  to  Profits  on  Farms  Selling  Whole- 
sale Market  Milk,  Livingston  County,  New  York, 

Per  cent  of  re-  Number  of  Average  Labor 

ceipts  from  crops.  farms.  area.  income. 

15  or  less 14  209  $769 

16-30 28  218  1,210 

31-50 25  264  1,284 

Over  50 10  174  1,225 

Comparative   Importance   of   Size,    Crop   Yields   and   Production 

Per  Cow. 
Table  14  shows  that  crop  yields  are  less  important  than  size  of  farm 
or  production  per  cow.     The  combination  of  good  cows  and  a  large  farm 
gives  a  better  chance  than  good  crops  and  good  cows.    The  same  point  is 
shown  by  comparing  Tables  11  and  12. 

Table  14. — Jefferson  County.  Percent 

maTcing  over 
SIOOO 
Labor  income,     labor  income. 

All  farms,  670 $609  22 

97  farms,  best  crops  (132  per  cent) 684  24 

97  farms,  best  cows  ($84+) 968  41 

97  farms,  largest  (224A+) 898  43 

23  best  crops  and  cows 994  39 

11  best  cows  and  size 1,294  73 

0  best  crops,  cows  and  size 

Balanced  Farms. 

As  has  been  previously  stated,  there  seems  to  be  little  relation  between 
any  of  these  factors.  If  a  farmer  is  good  in  one  respect,  it  does  not  tell 
anything  about  the  other  points. 

Evidently  a  farmer  who  is  as  good  as  the  average  in  every  particular 
is  a  very  far  from  an  average  man.  He  is  a  very  unusual  man.  In  Jeffer- 
son County,  out  of  670  farmers  only  32  were  as  good  as  the  average  in  each 


245 

of  the  four  respects.  The  average  labor  income  of  this  region  was  $609, 
but  the  farmers  who  were  as  good  as  the  average  in  size  (143  acres  or  more), 
crop  yields,  receipts  per  cow  ($59  or  more)  and  in  diversity  (20  per  cent 
or  more  from  crops)  made  an  average  of  $1491  and  only  6  of  them  failed 
to  make  as  much  as  $1000. 

As  a  standard  for  dairy  farms,  we  may  take  the  average  of  all  farmers 
in  three  regions  who  sold  market  milk  and  who  made  labor  incomes  of  $2000 
or  more.    Table  15  gives  these  averages. 

Table  15. — Averages.     23  Farms  Selling  Wholesale  Market  Milk. 

Three  counties. 

Acres. 257 

Crop  acres 154 

Crop  index 119 

Receipts  per  cow  (32  cows) $98 

Milk  sold 7,000  lbs. 

Per  cent  of  receipts  from  crops 34 

Labor  income $2,658 

Our  records  give  similar  comparisons  for  other  types  of  farming.  But 
the  principles  of  size  and  production  hold  on  the  truck  farms  and  crop 
farms  as  well  as  on  dairy  farms. 

Individual  Farms. 
It  is  evident  that  we  can  give  a  very  close  estimate  of  labor  income  if 
we  know  the  above  four  factors.    The  following  examples  are  from  Jefferson 
County : 

Farm  1. 
Crop  acres,  29;  very  poor. 
Crop  index,  208;  excellent. 
Receipts  per  cow  (11  cows),  $116;  excellent. 
Per  cent  of  receipts  from  crops,  21 ;  excellent. 
Labor  income,  $980. 

This  is  the  best  record  for  so  small  an  area.  It  represents  the  top 
notch  in  the  ''little  farm  well  tilled."  Splendid  crops,  splendid  cows, 
even  on  the  small  area,  crops  to  sell  and  all  work  done  by  the  farmer  him- 
self with  two  months  of  hired  labor.  Such  a  farmer  as  this  should  be  able 
to  make  $3000  labor  income  if  he  rented  land  on  which  to  grow  100  acres 
more  crops,  doubled  his  cows  and  kept  two  pien  by  the  year.  With  this 
system  he  would  not  have  to  work  so  hard. 

Farm  2. 
Crop  acres,  21;  very  poor. 

Crop  index,  211;  excellent.     (Hay  3.3  T.,  silage  13  T.) 
Receipts  per  cow  (8  cows),  $90;  excellent. 
Per  cent  of  receipts  from  crops,  22;  excellent. 
Hired  labor,  $250;  poor  for  the  size. 
Labor  income,  $380. 

This  farmer  kept  poorer  cows  and  hired  one  man  although  he  had  so 
little  work  to  do.     For  these  reasons,  he  made  less  than  Farm  No.  1. 


246 

Farm  3. 
Crop  acres,  133;  good. 

Crop  index,  75;  poor.  (Hay  1.1  T.,  oats  25  bu.) 
Receipts  per  cow  (20  cows),  $95;  excellent. 
Per  cent  of  receipts  from  crops,  16;  fair. 
Labor  income,  $1,661. 

This  farmer  gets  crops  only  three-fourths  as  good  as  his  neighbors', 
but  with  the  large  area  he  should  make  a  good  profit  from  growing  them. 
He  sells  part,  and  what  he  feeds  to  cows  he  makes  a  second  profit  on  because 
he  gets  such  good  returns  per  cow. 

We  should  expect  him  to  do  very  well  indeed.  His  crops  are  only 
one-third  as  good  as  Numbers  1  and  2,  but  the  larger  area  more  than  makes 
up.  If  the  soil  is  as  good  as  his  neighbors',  he  might  readily  bring  his  labor 
income  to  $2000  by  raising  better  crops. 

Farm  4. 
Crop  acres,  110;  excellent. 
Crop  index,  142;  excellent. 
Receipts  per  cow,  $96;  excellent. 
Per  cent  of  receipts  from  crops,  19;  excellent. 
Labor  income,  $2,239. 

This  farm  is  excellent  in  every  particular.  We  should  expect  it  to 
make  at  least  $2000,  as  it  does.  About  the  only  difference  from  Number  3 
is  in  crop  yield. 

Farm  5. 
Crop  acres,  109;  excellent. 
Crop  index,  120;  excellent. 
Receipts  per  cow  (32  cows),  $56;  poor. 
Per  cent  of  receipts  from  crops,  4;  poor. 
Labor  income,  minus  $113. 

This  farmer  made  very  good  profit  on  his  crops  of  which  he  had  a  good 
acreage.  But  he  fed  these  crops  to  cows  that  did  not  pay  their  feed  bill. 
If  he  had  excellent  cows,  his  labor  income  would  be  $1500,  but  as  it  is  he 
did  not  even  make  interest  on  his  capital.  He  paid  for  the  privilege  of 
working. 

Farm  6. 

Crop  acres,  259;  excellent. 

Crop  index,  134;  excellent. 

Receipts  per  cow  (33  cows),  $74;  good. 

Per  cent  of  receipts  from  crops,  53;  excellent. 

Labor  income,  $3,270. 

This  is  the  highest  labor  income  made  by  any  farmer  who  sold  milk 
at  wholesale.  With  his  unusually  large  area  of  good  crops,  he  could 
easily  raise  his  labor  income  to  $4000  by  keeping  better  cows. 

After  one  has  studied  over  large  numbers  of  records  it  becomes  possi- 
ble to  tell  whether  the  labor  income  is  poor,  good,  fair  or  excellent  by 


247 

knowing  these  few  figures.  This  is  the  final  proof  that  these  are  the 
most  important  factors  of  profits.  This  applies  to  other  types  of  farming 
equally  well.  In  about  five  cases  out  of  one  hundred,  some  other  factor 
affects  the  results  so  decidedly  as  to  make  one  guess  wrong.  But  on  most 
farms,  a  good  sized  area  of  crops  and  good  yields  have  so  strong  an  influence 
as  to  overshadow  other  factors  and  almost  insure  good  returns  if  the  crops 
are  sold  or  are  fed  to  animals  that  bring  good  returns. 

There  are  some  city  men  in  the  audience.  I  may  say  that  all  this 
discussion  is  from  results  by  practical  farmers.  City  persons  are  most 
likely  to  fail  by  putting  too  much  money  in  buildings  and  by  keeping  too 
many  men  and  by  doing  too  many  fancy  things  that  are  called  scientific 
farming  but  that  are  really  ''folly  farming."  Experienced  farmers  do  not 
often  make  serious  mistakes  on  these  things. 

A  Farmers'  Catechism. 

Each  farmer  will  do  well  to  compare  his  farm  with  successful  farms  to 
see  where  it  is  weak  and  then  see  if  it  can  be  improved. 

Are  there  80  to  200  acres  of  crops  harvested?  If  not,  can  I  buy  or 
rent  more  land? 

Are  my  crop  yields  10  to  20  per  cent  better  than  my  neighbors'  who 
have  the  same  soil?     If  not,  will  it  not  pay  to  improve  them? 

Are  my  cows  at  least  50  per  cent  better  than  my  neighbors'?  If  not, 
how  much  am  I  losing  on  them  per  year?  Had  I  best  stop  keeping  cows  or 
get  better  ones? 

Am  I  getting  at  least  20  per  cent  of  my  receipts  from  the  sale  of  cash 
crops?     If  not,  could  I  make  more  by  raising  cash  crops? 

Am  I  getting  at  least  20  per  cent  of  my  money  from  animal  products? 
If  not,  am  I  making  good  use  of  low  grade  farm  products  and  am  I  and  my 
horses  kept  well  employed  most  of  the  year? 

[Conference  finally  adjourned.] 


Appendix 


[Reprint  of  folder  announcing  Corn  Contest] 
FIRST  CORN  CONTEST 

OF  THE 

CORN   EXCHANGE  NATIONAL  BANK 
Philadelphia 

AT 

COMMERCIAL   EXCHANGE,   PHILADELPHIA  BOURSE 
December  4,  5,  6,  1913 

AT 

PENNSYLVANIA   STATE   COLLEGE   OF  AGRICULTURE 
State  College,  Pa. 

December  29th  to  January  3d. 

The  American  Bankers'  Association  has  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  most  useful  and  profitable  work  they  could  undertake  is  along  the  line 
of  agricultural  development  and  education. 

The  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank  of  Philadelphia  has  always  been 
closely  associated  with  the  Grain  Exchange  (now  called  the  Commercial 
Exchange).  So  we  are  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the  movement  and 
believe  that  better  crops  will  mean  increased  prosperity  to  all. 

On  these  broad  lines  we  enlist  the  co-operation  of  all  banks,  news- 
papers, business  men  and  educators  in  the  four  States — Pennsylvania, 
New  Jersey,  Delaware  and  Maryland. 

$1,250   IN   PRIZES 

for  the  best   corn  grown  during   1913   in   Pennsylvania,   New  Jersey, 
Delaware,  Maryland,  will  be  given  by  the 

Corn  Exchange  National  Bank,  Philadelphia. 
Judges  to  be  one  representative  each  from  the  State  Agricultural 
Colleges   of   Pennsylvania,    New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Maryland   and   the 
Commercial  (Grain)  Exchange,  Bourse,  Philadelphia. 

The  Following  Rules  Will  Govern  the  Contest. 

1.  Entries  to  consist  of  not  less  than  ten  (10)  ears  of  corn. 

2.  All  exhibits  to  be  grown  by  exhibitors  within  the  States  of  Penn- 
sylvania, New  Jersey,  Delaware  and  Maryland,  during  the  season  of 
1913. 

3.  Contest  open  to  all  competitors. 

4.  All  general  entries  must  be  from  fields  of  one  acre  or  more. 
Entries  for  boys'  prizes  alone  may  be  grown  in  fields  of  not  less  than 
one-quarter  acre.  Boys  may  compete  for  general  prizes  if  corn  is  grown 
in  fields  of  one  acre  and  over. 

(251) 


252 

[Reprint  of  folder  announcing  Corn  Contest] 

5.  Competitors  may  compete  in  all  lots,  but  may  make  but  one 
entry  in  each  lot. 

6.  Exhibits  must  be  delivered  at  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank, 
Second  and  Chestnut  Streets,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  not  later  than  December 
1,  1913.     If  shipped  by  freight  or  express,  charges  must  he  prepaid. 

7.  Each  exhibit  must  be  accompanied  by  instructions,  giving  name 
and  address  of  exhibitor,  together  with  name  of  class  it  is  desired  to  enter. 

8.  Packages  will  be  opened  and  marked  by  representatives  from 
Pennsylvania  State  College. 

9.  Com  will  be  exhibited  at  Commercial  Exchange,  Philadelphia 
Bourse,  on  December  4,  5  and  6,  1913,  and  during  Farmers'  Week  at 
Pennsylvania  State  College,  State  College,  Pa.,  from  December  29th  to 
January  3d. 

10.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  specimens,  which  the  bank  desires 
for  exhibition  during  the  year,  upon  request  of  the  grower,  the  corn  will 
be  returned  by  express  (charges  collect)  to  be  used  for  seed. 

SWEEPSTAKE  PRIZES. 

Four  States. 

Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Delaware  and  Maryland.  All  entries 
grown  in  fields  not  less  than  one  acre  compete  for  this  prize,  but  prize 
winners  will  be  withdrawn  from  competition  in  their  regular  classes. 

DENT   CLASS. 

First  prize $100 .  00    Second  prize $50 .  00 

Third  prize $25.00 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

District  No.  1. 

Comprising  Erie,  Crawford,  Warren,  Mercer,  Lawrence,  Tioga, 
Bradford,  Susquehanna,  Wayne,  Sullivan  Wyoming,  Lackawanna,  Pike, 
Monroe,  McKean,  Potter,  Venango,  Forest,  Elk,  Cameron,  Clarion, 
Jefferson,  Butler,  Armstrong,  Indiana,  Clearfield  and  Cambria  Counties. 

CLASSES   OF   CORN. 

Yellow  Dent. 

First  prize $20.00     Second  prize $10.00 

Third  prize $5.00 

White  Dent. 

First  prize $20.00     Second  prize $10.00 

Third  prize $5.00 


253 

[Reprint  of  folder  announcing  Corn  Contest] 
White  Cap  Yellow  Dent. 

First  prize $20.00    Second  prize $10.00 

Third  prize. $5.00 

Flint. 

First  prize $20 .  00    Second  prize $10 .  00 

Third  prize $5.00 

District  No.  2. 

Comprising  Beaver,  Allegheny,  Westmoreland,  Washington,  Greene, 
Fayette,  Somerset,  Clinton,  Lycoming,  Center,  Union  Montour,  Colum- 
bia, Luzerne,  Blair,  Huntingdon,  Mifflin,  Snyder,  Northumberland, 
Schuylkill,  Carbon,  Juniata,  Perry,  Dauphin,  Bedford  and  Fulton 
Counties. 

Same  classes  and  same  number  and  amount  of  prizes  as  in  District 
No.  1. 

District  No.  3. 

Comprising  Franklin,  Cumberland,  Lebanon,  Berks,  Lehigh,  North- 
ampton, Adams,  York,  Lancaster,  Chester,  Montgomery,  Bucks,  Dela- 
ware, and  Philadelphia  Counties. 

CLASSES   OF   CORN. 

Yellow  Dent. 

First  prize $20.00     Second  prize $10.00 

Third  prize $5.00 

White  Dent. 

First  prize $20.00     Second  prize $10.00 

Third  prize $5.00 

White  Cap  Yellow  Dent. 

First  prize $20.00    Second  prize. ....  $10.00 

Third  prize $5.00 

DELAWARE. 

From  the  State  at  large. 

CLASSES   OF   CORN. 

White. 

First  prize $20.00    Third  prize $10.00 

Second  prize 15 .  00    Fourth  prize 5 .  00 


254 

[Reprint  of  folder  announcing  Corn  Contest] 
Yellow. 

First  prize $20.00    Third  prize $10.00 

Second  prize 15 .  00     Fourth  prize 5 .  00 

MIXED    CORN. 

First  prize $20.00     Third  prize $10.00 

Second  prize 15.00     Fourth  prize 5.00 

MARYLAND. 

Same  classes  and  same  number  and  amount  of  Prizes  as  Delaware.     * 

NEW   JERSEY. 

South  Jersey  District  comprising  Middlesex,  Mercer,  Monmouth, 
Burlington,  Ocean,  Camden,  Gloucester,  Salem,  Cumberland,  Atlantic, 
Cape  May. 

CLASSES    OF   CORN. 

White. 

First  prize.  .......   $20.00     Third  prize $10.00 

Second  prize 15.00     Fourth  prize 5.00 

Yellow. 

First  prize $20.00    Third  prize $10.00 

Second  prize 15 .  00     Fourth  prize 5 .  00 

North  Jersey  District  comprising  Somerset,  Hunterdon,  Union,  War- 
ren, Morris,  Essex,  Hudson,  Bergen,  Passaic,  Sussex. 

North  Jersey  District  same  classes  and  same  number  and  amount  of 
prizes  as  in  South  Jersey  District. 

BOYS'  PRIZES. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 
Boys'  (under  21)  Prizes. 
Corn  grown  in  fields  not  less  than  J  acre. 

Pent. 

First  prize $20.00    Third  prize $5.00 

Second  prize 10 .  00     Fourth  prize 3 .  00 

Flint. 

First  prize $20 .  00    Third  prize \     $5 .  00 

Second  prize .....  .      10.00     Fourth  prize 3.00 


255 
[Reprint  of  folder  announcing  Corn  Contest] 

NEW  JERSEY. 

Boys*  (under  21)  Prizes. 
Corn  grown  in  fields  not  less  than  J  acre. 

Dent. 

First  prize $20.00    Third  prize $5.00 

Second  prize 10.00    Fourth  prize 3.00 

DELAWARE. 

Same  conditions,  same  kind  of  prize  as  New  Jersey. 

MARYLAND. 

Same  conditions  and  same  kind  of  prizes  as  New  Jersey. 


CORN 
From  Pennsylvania  State  College  Bulletin. 

More  care  should  be  exercised  in  purchasing  seed  com.  There  are 
many  different  corn  sections  in  Pennsylvania,  and  seed  adapted  to  one 
section  may  not  do  well  in  another  section;  therefore,  seed  corn  in  large 
quantity  should  not  be  purchased  from  other  parts  of  the  State  or  from 
other  States  where  the  conditions  are  entirely  different.  Tests  may  be 
made  of  small  amounts  of  seed  of  promising  varieties  and  strains  before 
they  are  extensively  planted. 

A  plat  of  four  rows  3J  feet  apart  and  each  containing  42  hills  3  feet 
apart  will  make  approximately  1-25  acre.  Six  kernels  should  be  planted 
to  hill  and  thinned  to  three  stalks.  Varieties  thus  planted  will  mix  and 
must  not  be  used  for  seed. 

Corn  Improvement. — The  foundation  stock  must  be  improved  first. 
Two  methods  are  in  common  use  for  doing  this:  (1)  The  use  of  a  selected 
seed  plat.  (2)  Ear  row  tests.  All  seed  corn  should  be  carefully  selected 
in  the  field  on  the  stock  or  purchased  on  th^ear.  A  germination  test 
should  be  made  in  the  spring  before  planting  and  all  ears  rejected  which 
do  not  germinate  100  per  cent.  Germination  may  best  be  done  in  boxes 
about  3  inches  deep.  Fill  the  box  with  sand  and  divide  it  into  squares 
of  about  2  inches  each.  Saturate  sand  thoroughly  with  water.  Arrange 
the  ears  in  rows  and  number  them.  Take  six  kernels,  2  each  from  near 
butt,  from  the  center  and  from  near  tip  of  the  ear  and  place  them  in  the 
moist  sand  in  regular  order.  Cover  the  box  with  a  pane  of  glass  and  keep 
at  temperature  of  living  room. 


256 

[Reprint  folder  announcing  Corn  Contest] 

1.  The  selected  seed  plat.  This  consists  of  a  plat  of  ground  isolated 
from  all  other  corn,  at  least  fifty  rods,  if  possible  and  large  enough  to  grow 
the  quantity  of  seed  desired.  Select  a  few  of  the  very  best  seed  ears  and 
shell  together  for  this  plat.  During  growing  season,  cut  out  all  barren, 
dwarfed  and  diseased  stalks  before  they  have  produced  any  pollen  (before 
tasseling).  For  the  second  year,  the  very  best  ears  from  above  may  be 
used  for  another  plat,  etc. 

2.  Ear  to  row  method.  This  method  is  the  best  for  improving  com 
rapidly  and  for  getting  the  very  best  results,  but  it  requires  careful  work 
and  much  of  it.  The  general  plan  is  to  select  100  of  the  best  ears  from 
the  variety  to  be  improved  and  number  each  ear  securely.  Shell  half  of 
each  ear  and  plant  it  in  a  row  numbered  to  correspond.  (By  planting 
in  rows  3|  feet  apart  and  42  hills,  3  feet  apart  to  the  row,  each  row  will 
contain  approximately  1-100  of  an  acre).  Six  grains  should  be  planted  to 
a  hill  and  stand  thinned  to  three  stalks.  These  rows  should  be  studied 
during  the  growing  season,  and  all  the  desirable  features  which  they  develop 
should  be  noted  down  for  reference.  At  harvesting  time  each  row  should 
be  harvested  separately  and  weighed.  The  best  ears  from  ten  of  the  very 
best  of  these  rows  should  be  selected  for  field  planting.  By  shelling  together 
the  remainder  of  these  same  parent  ears  and  planting  in  an  increase  plat 
the  following  year,  provision  may  be  made  for  selecting  good  ears  for  the 
next  year's  row  tests.  All  row  plats  should  be  isolated,  as  described  above. 
This  plan  provides  for  a  succession  of  seed  plat  and  row  test  on  altern^-te 
years  (this  test  may  also  be  conducted  in  a  co-operative  way  or  by  one 
farmer  in  each  community,  who  will  supply  seed  to  his  neighbor).  If 
carefully  followed,  the  improved  seed  which  it  will  yield  will  well  repay 
the  time  and  money  involved.  There  is  at  present  a  great  demand  for 
improved  seed  corn  in  all  parts  of  Pennsylvania. 

Care  of  Seed. — Seed  corn  should  be  carefully  dried  and  stored  in  a 
warm,  dry  and  well-ventilated  place.  A  wire  cage  in  a  warm  attic  makes 
an  ideal  storage  place. 


[Reprint  of  ''folder"  sent  out  by  the  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank  of 
Philadelphia  for  their  Corn  Contest] 

SUGGESTIONS   ON   SELECTING   CORN   FOR  EXHIBITION. 

FIRST  CORN  CONTEST 

OF   THE 

CORN  EXCHANGE  NATIONAL  BANK  OF  PHILADELPHIA, 
December  4,  5  and  6,  1913. 


SUGGESTIONS   ON   SELECTING   CORN   FOR  EXHIBITION. 

By  Prof.  A.  E.  Granthan, 
Delaware  College  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 

Before  selecting  corn  for  an  exhibit,  study  the  requirements  of  the 
score  card,  in  order  to  have  a  definite  idea  of  the  characteristics  of  a  good 
ear.  The  next  thing  to  do  is  to  select  an  ear  of  corn  which  is  most  nearly 
like  the  idea  in  mind.  Then  pick  out  a  considerable  number  of  ears  which 
approach  the  ideal  ear.  From  this  number  select  the  number,  ten  or 
twenty  as  the  case  may  be,  for  the  exhibit.  One  of  the  most  important 
points  to  consider  in  selecting  an  exhibit  is  the  uniformity  of  the  ears. 
In  other  words,  all  the  ears  of  the  exhibit  should  look  alike.  In  corn 
breeding  as  well  as  in  animal  breeding,  results  will  be  most  rapidly  accom- 
plished only  when  particular  types  are  developed.  Thus  each  exhibit 
should  present  a  definite  type.  •  It  is  not  so  important  what  this  type  is, 
provided  it  has  the  characteristics  of  good  corn,  but  care  should  be  taken 
to  have  the  exhibit  represent  some  type.  For  this  reason  the  ears 
exhibited  should  have,  as  nearly  as  possible,  the  same  length,  the  same 
diameter,  the  same  shade  of  color,  the  same  character  of  indentation,  the 
same  size,  width  and  shape  of  kernel,  and  the  same  sort  of  butts,  tips  and 
cobs.  See  that  the  ears  are  sound,  mature,  free  from  injury,  and  that 
kernels  are  not  shelled  off. 

DIRECTIONS  FOR  USING  SCORE  CARD. 

Uniformity  of  Exhibit  [15]. 

The  ears  of  an  exhibit  should  be  uniform  in  size,  color  and  indenta- 
tion. Judge  the  exhibit  separately  for  each  of  these  characters.  The 
15  points  will  allow  5  to  be  given  to  size,  5  to  color,  and  5  to  indentation; 
or,  in  other  words,  each  ear  will  be  allowed  J  point  under  each  of  these 
heads.  For  each  ear  that  varies  in  the  above  characters,  cut  from  i  to  J 
point  each.     Add  these  cuts  together  for  total  cut  of  uniformity  of  exhibit. 

(257) 


258 

[Reprint  of  ''folder"  sent  out  by  the  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank  of 
Philadelphia  for  their  Corn  Contest] 

Maturity  and  Market  Condition  [15]. 

Ears  should  be  firm  and  free  from  injury  or  decay  spots.  The  firm- 
ness of  the  ear  is  best  determined  by  twisting  in  the  hand  or  by  moving 
the  kernels  with  the  thumb.  Cut  not  to  exceed  IJ  points  for  each  ear 
that  is  defective. 

Purity  (as  Shown  by  Color)  of  Kernel  [5]. 

Kernels  should  be  free  from  mixture  of  corn  of  opposite  color.  In 
yellow  corn  the  mixture  is  shown  on  the  caps  of  the  kernels,  in  white  corn 
on  the  sides.  For  each  kernel  in  an  ear  showing  such  mixture  cut  J  point, 
except  in  mixed  corn,  where  this  does  not  apply. 

Purity  (as  Shown  by  Color)  of  Cob  [5]. 

Cobs  should  be  of  one  color;  in  yellow  corn  they  are  usually  red;  in 
white  corn,  white.  For  each  cob  opposite  in  color  to  the  prevailing  type 
cut  2  points.  For  pink  cobs  cut  J  to  J  point,  according  to  shade  or  color. 
Two  cobs  of  opposite  color  shall  bar  the  exhibit. 

Shape  of  Ear  [10]. 

The  shape  should  approach  the  cylindrical,  which  indicates  that  depth 
of  kernel  is  maintained  from  butt  to  tip.  A  cylindrical  ear  usually  means 
a  greater  per  cent  of  corn  to  cob,  and  a  larger  number  of  kernels  of 
uniform  size  and  shape  for  planting.  Cut  J  to  1  point  for  each  ear  that 
tapers  too  greatly. 

Proportion  of  Length  to  Circumference  [10]. 

The  ratio  of  circumference  to  length  should  be  approximately  as  3 
to  4,  or  the  circumference  measured  at  a  point  one-third  of  the  distance 
from  butt  to  tip  should  be  three-fourths  of  the  length.  A  ten-inch  ear 
should  be  approximately  seven  and  one-half  inches  in  circumference. 
Cut  not  to  exceed  1  point  for  each  ear. 

Shape  and  Uniformity  of  Kernels  [10]. 

The  kernels  should  be  uniform  in  size  and  shape.  They  should  be 
slightly  wedge-shape  with  straight  edges  so  as  to  fit  tightly  together,  but 
should  be  pointed.  Remove  three  kernels  from  each  ear  for  comparison. 
Cut  J  to  1  point  for  each  ear  with  poor  kernels. 

Butts  [5]. 

The  butts  should  be  well-rounded  out  with  deep  regular  kernels, 
solidly   compacted   together   around   a  clean   cup-shaped   cavity.      The 


259 

[Reprint  of  ''folder"  sent  out  by  the  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank  of 
Philadelphia  for  their  Com  Contest] 

shank  should  be  medium  in  size,  so  as  not  to  be  difficult  to  break  off  when 
husking.     Cut  not  to  exceed  |  point  for  each  badly  formed  butt. 

Tips  [5]. 

Deep  kernels  shall  fill  out  the  end  of  the  ear  in  as  regular  rows  as 
possible.  The  ideal  tip  is  completely  covered,  but  if  the  kernels  are  deep 
and  regular  out  even  to  the  end  of  the  cob,  no  cut  need  be  given. 

Space  Between  Rows  [5]. 

Furrow  between  rows  should  be  narrow,  with  the  kernels  fitting 
closely  together  at  the  cob,  but  not  crowded.  Cut  not  to  exceed  ^  point 
for  each  ear. 

Proportion  of  Corn  to  Ear  [15]. 

The  proportion  of  corn  to  ear  should  be  not  less  than  85  per  cent. 
The  per  cent  is  best  determined  by  shelling  and  weighing  representative 
ears.  It  can  be  estimated  by  taking  into  account  the  depth  and  shape  of 
kernel,  the  filling  out  of  butt  and  tips,  the  size  of  cob  and  degree  of 
maturity.  Cut  IJ  points  for  each  per  cent  the  exhibit  falls  below  85  per 
cent. 

SCORE  CARD. 

Uniformity  of  Exhibit 15 

Maturity  and  market  condition 15 

Purity  (as  shown  by  color)  of  cob 5 

Purity  (as  shown  by  color)  of  kernel 5 

Shape  of  ear 10 

Proportion  of  length  to  circumference 10 

Shape  and  uniformity  of  kernel 10 

Butts 5 

Tips 5 

Space  between  rows 5 

Proportion  of  corn  to  ear 15 

100 


260 


[Reprint  of  Stationery.] 

CORN   EXCHANGE  NATIONAL   BANK. 

Corn  Show  and  Agricultural  Conference. 

Bourse  Building;  Thursday,  Friday,  Saturday, 
December  4,  5,  6,  1913. 

Assisted  by 

The  Commercial  Exchange  PHILADELPHIA 

The  University  of  Pennsylvania 

State  College  of  Pennsylvania 

Pennsylvania  Rural  Progress  Ass'n 

City  Club  of  Philadelphia 

Philadelphia  Society  for  Promoting 
Agriculture 


C.  S.  Calwell,  Chairman 

President  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank 

Clarence  Sears  Kates 

Chairman  of  the  Joint  Committee 
Pennsylvania  Rural  Progress  Association 

Vice-Chairmen 

Antonio  Sans 

President  Commercial  Exchange 

Robert  C.  Wright 

F.  T.  M.,  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Co. 

Walter  Horstmann 

Vice-President  Chamber  of  Commerce 

D.  T.  Fleisher 

Pres,,  Merchants  &  Manufacturers  Ass'n 

Wm.  M.  Coates 

President  Board  of  Trade 

Harry  Nusbaum 

Pres.  Philadelphia  Produce  Exchange 

Clarence  Sears  Kates 

Pennsylvania  Rural  Progress  Ass'n 

Charles  Z.  Tryon 

Hardware  Merchants  &  Manuf'rs  Ass'n 

J.  Bertram  Lippincott 

Philadelphia  Society  for  the  Promotion  of 
Agriculture 

Edgar  Pahs  Smith 

Provost  University  of  Pennsylvania 

N.  B.  Kelly,  Treasurer 

Secretary  Chamber  of  Commerce 

D.  W.  SuMMERFiELD,  Secretary 
9  North  Thirteenth  Street 
Sec'y  Merchants  &  Manufacturers  Ass'n 

Manager  of  the  Conference 
Mrs.  Edith  Ellicott  Smith 
President  Penna.  Rural  Progress  Ass'n 

P.  O.  Box  1905 


PRIZES  AWARDED  IN  CORN  CONTEST. 


The  following  prize  winners  were  announced  today  by  the  judges 
in  the  Corn  Contest  conducted  by  the  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank  the 
past  season,  the  entries  in  which  comprised  the  exhibits  in  the  Com  Show 
held  in  the  Philadelphia  Bourse  Thursday,  Friday  and  Saturday.  The 
contest  was  open  to  farmers  of  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Delaware  and 
Maryland,  and  was  for  the  best  ten  ears  of  com  grown  on  an  acre  or  more 
of  ground  this  year.  Ninety-six  separate  prizes  were  offered,  ranging 
from  $3  to  $100,  and  totaling  $1,250.  The  judges  were:  Samuel  L. 
McKnight,  representing  the  Commercial  Exchange;  Professor  F.  D.  Gard- 
ner, Pennsylvania  State  College;  Professor  L.  N.  Merrill,  New  Jersey 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station;  A.  E.  Grantham,  Delaware  State  Col- 
lege;   and  Nicholas  Schmitz,  Maryland  Agricultural  College. 

Sweepstakes. 

First  prize SlOO G.  D.  Radebaugh,  Bynum,  Md. 

Second  prize 50 Clarence  A.  Mellinger,  Ronks,  Pa. 

Third  prize 25 James  T.  Shallcross,  Middletown,  Del. 

Special  Prizes  for  Ohio  Boys. 

First  prize $25 William  C.  Kirk,  Jefifersonville,  Ohio 

Second  prize 20 Jay  Lawrence,  Coshocton,  Ohio 

Third  prize 15 Howard  C.  Vannorsdall,  Jeffersonville,  Ohio 

Fourth  prize 10 Walter  S.  Blamer,  Johnstown,  Ohio 

Pennsylvania. 

First  District. 

Yellow  Dent,  First  prize ......   $20 Arthur  F.  Hickok,  Troy,  Pa. 

Yellow  Dent,  Second  prize ....     10 D.  K.  Sloan,  Canton,  Pa. 

Yellow  Dent,  Third  prize 5 Jacob  Gorley,  Everette,  Pa. 

White  Cap  Yellow  Dent,  First  prize.  .  $20 Edgar  M.  Wilkinson,  Erie,  Pa. 

Flint,  First  prize $20 D.  K.  Sloan,  Canton,  Pa. 

Second  District. 

Yellow  Dent,  First  prize $20 Sylvester  S.  Sheller,  Duncannon,  Pa. 

Yellow  Dent,  Second  prize 10 Wallace  Haberman,  Andreas,  Pa. 

Yellow  Dent,  Third  prize 5 

White  Cap  Yellow  Dent,  First  prize.  .  $20. William  Claney,  Antes  Fort,  Pa. 

Flint,  First  prize $20 Wallace  Haberman,  Andreas,  Pa. 

(261) 


262 

Third  District. 

Yellow  Dent,  First  prize $20 A.  and  T.  Crowell,  Avondale,  Pa. 

Yellow  Dent,  Second  prize.  ...     10 Ed.  Alexander,  Unionville,  Pa. 

Yellow  Dent,  Third  prize 5 Henry  Palmer,  Avondale,  Pa. 

White  Dent,  First  prize $20 Ben.  Harris,  Newtown,  Pa. 

White  Dent,  Second  prize 10 Joseph  Briggs,  Yardley,  Pa. 

White  Dent,  Third  prize 5 J.  W.  Burkhart  &  Son,  Lititz,  Pa. 

White  Cap  Yellow  Dent,  First  prize.  .  .  .$20 Harry  B.  Herr,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

White  Cap  Yellow  Dent,  Second  jjrize.  .    10 David  M.  Landis,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

White  Cap  Yellow  Dent,  Third  prize. ...     5 G.  W.  and  C.  A.  Row,  Yardley,  Pa. 

Delaware. 

White  Dent,  First  prize $20 Naudain  &  Son,  Marshallton,  Del. 

White  Dent,  Second  prize 15 A.  S.  Whittock,  Middletown,  Del. 

White  Dent,  Third  prize 10 Harvey  Ball,  Stanton,  Del. 

White  Dent,  Fourth  prize 5 Horace  A.  Dilworth,  Montchanin,  Del. 

Yellow  Dent,  First  prize $20 Naudain  &  Son,  Marshallton,  Del. 

Yellow  Dent,  Second  prize.  .  .  .     15 Horace  A.  Dilworth,  Montchanin,  Del. 

Yellow  Dent,  Third  prize 10 A.  S.  Whittock,  Middletown,  Del. 

Yellow  Dent,  Fourth  prize.  ...       5 W.  H.  Shaeffer,  New  Castle,  Del. 

Mixed  Corn,  First  prize $20 Naudain  &  Son,  Marshallton,  Del. 

Mixed  Corn,  Second  prize 15 Harvey  Ball,  Stanton,  Del. 

Mixed  Corn,  Third  prize 10 Horace  A.  Di^lworth,  Montchanin,  Del. 

Mixed  Corn,  Fourth  prize 5 Harvey  Walker,  Marshallton,  Del. 

Maryland. 

White  Dent,  First  prize $20 Josiah  Massey,  Chestertown,  Md. 

White  Dent,  Second  prize 15 W.  L.  Tucker,  Forest  Hill,  Md. 

White  Dent,  Third  prize 10 A.  B.  Twining,  Forest  Hill,  Md. 

White  Dent,  Fourth  prize 5 Oakland  Farm,  Havre  de  Grace,  Md, 

Yellow  Dent,  First  prize $20 A.  B.  Twining,  Forest  Hill,  Md. 

Yellow  Dent,  Second  prize.  ...     15 Oakland  Farm,  Havre  de  Grace,  Md. 

Yellow  Dent,  Third  prize 10 James  R.  Galbraith,  Street  P.  O.,  Md. 

Yellow  Dent,  Fourth  prize.  ...       5 Jas.  B.  Clarke,  Ellicott  City,  Md. 

Mixed  Corn,  First  prize $20 John  L.  Stevens,  Rising  Sun,  Md. 

Mixed  Corn,  Second  prize 15 W.  Irving  Walker,  Chestertown,  Md. 

Mixed  Corn,  Third  prize 10 Bohemia  Hill  Farm,  Earlville,  Md. 

New  Jersey. 

South  District. 

White  Corn,  First  prize $20 Minch  Bros.,  Bridgeton,  N.  J, 

White  Corn,  Second  prize 15 Clarence  H.  Fogg,  Bridgeton,  N.  J. 

White  Corn,  Third  prize 10 Allen  Ackley,  Bridgeton,  N.  J. 

White  Corn,  Fourth  prize 5 Maurice  Vennell,  Marlton,  N.  J. 

Yellow  Dent,  First  prize $20 Henry  S.  Lippincott,  Marlton,  N.  J. 

Yellow  Dent,  Second  prize.  ...     15 R.  B.  Wander,  Bridgeton,  N.  J. 

Yellow  Dent,  Third  prize 10 C.  H.  Pew,  Mount  Holly,  N.  J. 

Yellow  Dent,  Fourth  prize.  ...       5 Wilmer  ColHns,  Merchantville,  N.  J. 


263 

Mixed  Corn,  First  prize $20 George  Sharp,  Bridgeton,  N.  J. 

Mixed  Corn,  Second  prize 15 William  Sherman,  Mount  Holly,  N.  J. 

Mixed  Corn,  Third  prize 10 Thomas  A.  Gracey,  Burlington,  N.  J. 

Mixed  Corn,  Fourth  prize 5 Charles  Scott,  Sewell,  N.  J. 

Boys'  Prizes. 

Pennsylvania. 

Dent  Corn,  First  prize $20 Fred  Coates,  Cochranville,  Pa. 

Dent  Corn,  Second  prize 10 Fred  Frick,  Pine  Forge,  Pa. 

Dent  Corn,  Third  prize 5 Albert  O.  Bruckart,  Lititz,  Pa. 

Dent  Corn,  Fourth  prize 3 Aldon  A.  Wilson,  Newtown,  Pa. 

Flint  Corn,  First  prize 20 Clarence  Small,  Bethlehem,  Pa. 

(Single  entry.) 

New  Jersey. 

Dent  Corn,  First  prize $20 Raymond  Harris,  Deerfield,  N.  J. 

Dent  Corn,  Second  prize 10 Basil  ShoU,  Burlington,  N.  J. 

Dent  Corn,  Third  prize 5 Harry  A.  Drew,  Vernon,  N.  J. 

Dent  Corn,  Fourth  prize 3 Howard  E.  Wills,  Marlton,  N.  J. 


Maryland, 

Dent  Corn,  First  prize $20 Geo.  W.  Radebaugh,  Bynum,  Md. 

Dent  Corn,  Second  prize 10 Russell  Galbraith,  Street  P.  O.,  Md, 

Dent  Corn,  Third  prize 5 Edward  Ady,  Sharon,  Md. 


Report  on  Potato  Embargo  Considered  at  a  Hearing  Conducted 
BY  THE  Special  Commission  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Held  in  Washington,  December  18,  1913. 


By  Clarence  Sears  Kates,  Delegate. 


The  hearing  was  held  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  whether  it  is  pos- 
sible to  safeguard  this  country  from  known  foreign  potato  diseases  which 
have  been  inspected  and  pronounced  free  from  infesta,tion  by  foreign 
experts. 

If  deemed  feasible,  this  would  be  accomplished  by  placing  the  potato 
under  the  plant  quarantine  act,  which  now  governs  nursery  stock  only. 
Otherwise,  the  alternatives  either  to  exclude  them  absolutely  by  quaran- 
tine or  to  allow  their  free  entry  without  any  supervision  or  inspection  to 
guard  against  disease.  Also,  to  add  to  the  potato  diseases  already  under 
ban  the  new  disease  known  as  Powdery  Smut. 

Those  in  attendance  were  delegates  from  all  of  the  potato  growing 
states — Maine,  Massachusetts,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware, 
Maryland,  Virginia,  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  Michigan,  Idaho,  Colorado — 
made  up  of  pathologists,  farmers,  commission  men  and  consumers;  also 
Senators  and  members  of  Congress  from  a  number  of  these  states. 

The  foreign  governments  of  Ireland,  Scotland,  England  and  Dominion 
of  Canada  (as  well  as  the  nation  of  Great  Britain),  Holland  and  Belgium, 
were  each  represented  by  delegates  specially  sent  to  this  country  for  attend- 
ance at  this  hearing.  This  shows  the  great  importance  of  the  question  in- 
volved. 

The  United  States  Government,  through  the  Commission,  made  it 
clear  at  the  outset  that  no  consideration  of  the  economic  effect  of  the  de- 
cision could  be  considered.  It  was  in  the  same  category  as  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  quarantine  against  the  human  disease  of  small-pox.  The 
point  to  establish  is — Is  there  a  disease?  If  so,  is  it  infectious?  If  in- 
fectious, is  it  a  menace?  If  a  menace,  how  shall  this  country  guard  against 
its  spread? 

It  was  established  to  all  present  at  this  hearing  that  all  the  above 
features  were  proved.  Also,  that  the  disease  existed  in  the  Dominion  of 
Canada,  Newfoundland,  Ireland  and  Scotland,  and  the  continent  of 
Europe.  This  was  proven  from  the  printed  reports  of  the  pathologists 
of  the  respective  countries,  and  that  there  was  no  known  preventive 
or  cure  of  the  new  disease  of  Powdery  Scab.  The  United  States  inspect- 
ors had  noted  the  old  disease  of  ''potato  scab"  or  "black  wart"  and  the 
new  one  of  ''powdery  scab"  in  almost  all  of  the  importations  examined 
at  the  docks  where  potatoes  enter  and  consisting  of  a  very  large  percentage. 

(264) 


265 

It  was  claimed  that  the  fact  of  foreign  potatoes  not  being  used  for 
seed  did  not  mitigate  the  danger.  The  menace  existed  from  the  parings 
being  used  in  the  refuse  fed  to  animals  both  in  city  and  country,  and  the 
resultant  manure  infects  the  soil. 

Colorado  showed  that  in  one  district  of  that  state  the  entire  potato 
industry  was  destroyed  through  the  introduction  of  an  infectious  disease. 
It  was  also  stated  by  pathologists  that  whereas  the  diseases  would  be 
in  a  mild  form  in  one  area,  the  introduction  to  another  area  had  been 
known  to  cause  a  virulent  form  to  develop. 

The  loss  on  the  crops  in  the  infected  areas,  of  which  there  are  already 
a  number  in  the  United  States,  amounts  to  one-third  to  one-half  the 
value  of  non-infected  areas.  And  the  potatoes  themselves  are  a  loss  to 
the  consumer. 

The  foreign  representatives'  statements  were  devoted  to  minimizing 
the  virulence  of  the  diseases  and  also  that  there  were  but  few  areas  infected 
and  that  it  would  be  confined  to  those  areas,  which  would  be,  they  claimed, 
a  simple  matter.  That  new  bags  only  would  be  used,  inspection  and  cer- 
tification of  the  most  ample  and  satisfactory  kind  would  be  furnished, 
etc. 

I  was  present  throughout  the  entire  hearing,  with  the  exception  of 
about  fifteen  minutes — the  session  lasted  from  10  a.  m.  to  12.50  p.  m. 
and  2.30  p.  m.  to  5.30  p.  m.  My  belief  is  four  individuals  (other  than 
the  foreign  delegates)  expressed  any  sentiment  but  that  the  most  strin- 
gent quarantine  should  be  established — resulting  in  absolute  prohibition 
of  entry  within  our  borders.  It  was  also  indicated  that  even  though  this 
prohibited  Canada  importations  into  United  States,  the  Dominion  Gov- 
ernment (though  advocating  admission  from  Great  Britain  and  the  Con- 
tinent on  foreign  certificate  of  freedom  from  infection)  would  feel  impelled 
to. take  the  same  protective  steps  as  the  United  States.  Of  the  four  Ameri- 
cans who  did  not  concur,  two  thought  that  a  foreign  certificate  would  prob- 
ably accomplish  sufficient  protection.  And  two  others  (members  of 
Congress,  one  from  Pennsylvania  and  one  from  New  York)  pleaded  for 
general  admission  on  the  basis  of  competition  lowering  the  price.  Of 
course,  the  decision  of  the  Commission  was  reserved,  and  no  indication 
of  time  they  would  give  the  decision  was  given. 

From  time  to  time  the  economic  results  of  the  quarantine  were  intro- 
duced. In  that  relation  the  statement  was  made  that  the  crop  for  1913 
was  for  a  ten  year  average,  twelve  million  bushels  above  normal.  The 
crop  for  1913  amounted  to  331  million  bushels.  The  per  capita  consump- 
tion lies  between  three  to  four  bushels.  The  largest  importation  ever 
received  was  thirteen  million  bushels.  The  claim  of  a  shortage  this  year 
is  due  to  the  comparison  with  the  abnormal  crop  of  1912. 


[Reprint  of  decision  in  re  Potato  quarantine/ 


UNITED   STATES   DEPARTMENT   OF  AGRICULTURE, 

Office  of  the  Secretary. 
Federal  Horticultural  Board. 


Notice  of  Quarantine  No.  11  (Foreign). 


Potato  Quarantine. 

The  fact  has  been  determined  by  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  that 
injurious  potato  diseases,  including  the  powdery  scab  {Spongospora  sub- 
terranea) ,  new  to  and  not  heretofore  widely  prevalent  or  distributed  within 
and  throughout  the  United  States,  exist  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada, 
Newfoundland,  the  islands  of  St.  Pierre  and  Miquelon,  Great  Britain, 
Ireland,  and  Continental  Europe,  and  are  coming  to  the  United  States 
with  imported  potatoes. 

Now,  therefore,  I,  David  F.  Houston,  Secretary  of  Agriculture, 
under  the  authority  conferred  by  section  7  of  the  act  of  Congress  approved 
August  20,  1912,  known  as  ''The  Plant  Quarantine  Act"  (37  United 
States  Statutes  at  Large,  page  315),  do  hereby  declare  that  it  is  necessary, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  introduction  into  the  United  States  of  such  potato 
diseases,  to  forbid  the  importation  into  the  United  States,  from  the  coun- 
tries hereinbefore  named,  of  the  common  or  Irish  potato  (Solarium  tubero- 
sum) until  such  time  as  it  shall  have  been  ascertained,  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  that  the  country  or  locality  from  which 
potatoes  are  offered  for  import  is  free  from  such  potato  diseases.. 

On  and  after  December  24,  1913,  and  until  further  notice,  by  virtue 
of  said  section  7  of  the  act  of  Congress  approved  August  20,  1912,  the 
importation,  from  the  countries  hereinbefore  named,  of  the  common  or 
Irish  potato,  except  for  experimental  or  scientific  purposes  by  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  is  prohibited:  Provided,  That  shipments  of  such 
potatoes  loaded  prior  to  December  24,  1913,  as  shown  by  consular  invoices, 
will  be  permitted  entry  up  to  and  including  January  15,  1914. 

Done  at  Washington  this  22d  day  of  December,  1913. 

Witness  my  hand  and   the  seal  of  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture. 

David  F.  Houston, 
Secretary  of  A  griculture. 

[For  further  ''Notices,"  Amendments,  etc.,  on  this  topic  apply  to 
the  Federal  Horticultural  Board,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agric,  Washington,  D.  C] 

(266) 


[Announcing   the    formation   of    the   Philadelphia    Agricultural    Service 
Bureau,  names  of  the  Committee  and  scope  of  the  work.] 

STATEMENT. 


By  Charles  S.  Calwell, 
President,  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank,  Philadelphia. 


At  the  Agricultural  Conference,  which  was  held  in  Philadelphia  City 
Hall,  in  December,  I  was  asked  to  appoint  a  committee  to  establish  an 
Agricultural  Service  Bureau,  to  act  as  a  clearing-house  for  agricultural 
information  and  to  establish  mutually  advantageous  relations  between 
the  farmer  and  the  Philadelphia  market.  After  giving  the  matter  very 
careful  consideration,  I  have  appointed  the  ifoUowing  gentlemen:  Robert 
C.  Wright,  A.  B.  Ross,  Clarence  Sears  Kates,  Edward  T.  Butterworth, 
John  P.  Connelly,  Louis  Graff,  George  W.  Norris,  Charles  S.  Calwell. 

This  committee  will  work  in  close  harmony  with  the  State  College  of 
Pennsylvania,  the  Experiment  Stations  of  New  Jersey,  Delaware  and 
Maryland,  also  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

The  objects  of  the  committee  and  its  personnel  have  received  the 
hearty  approval  of  the  Mayor  and  ighe  Administration  in  general. 

Mr.  Wright  is  Freight  Traffic  Manager  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company,  was  formerly  General  Freight  Agent  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road Company,  and  is  very  much  interested  in  the  development  of  agri- 
culture along  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  lines. 

Mr.  A.  B.  Ross  is  County  Agent  of  Bedford  County,  Pa.,  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture.  His  work  has  attracted  national 
attention,  and  the  Government  at  Washington,  after  investigating  his 
work  in  Bedford  County,  decided  to  use  his  work  as  a  basis  for  county 
agents'  work  throughout  the  United  States,  and  now  has  in  course  of 
preparation  a  Farmers'  Bulletin  describing  the  work  that  has  been  ac- 
complished in  that  county. 

Mr.  Edward  T.  Butterworth  is  in  the  commission  produce  business 
on  Dock  street.  He  is  president  of  the  Philadelphia  Branch  of  the 
National  League  of  Commission  Merchants  of  the  United  States.  He  has 
been  of  great  help  to  the  farmers  in  teaching  them  how  to  pack  their  pro- 
duce for  shipment  into  the  Philadelphia  market.  He  is  an  expert  in  his 
line,  and  will  keep  the  Bureau  in  close  touch  with  the  commission  trade, 
so  that  practical  information  can  be  given  to  the  farmer  as  to  the  stan- 
dardization needs  and  requirements  for  growing,  packing  and  shipping  to 
Philadelphia. 

(267) 


268 

John  P.  Connelly  is  attorney  for  the  Philadelphia  Warehousing  and 
Cold  Storage  Company,  and  has  made  a  close  study  of  the  cold  storage 
business,  which  is  essential  to  the  proper  preservation  of  food  products. 

Louis  Graff  will  also  serve  on  the  committee.  He  is  president  of 
the  Commercial  Exchange  and  is  interested  in  farming  on  his  personal 
account.  Mr.  Graff  is  in  close  touch  with  the  grain  markets,  not  only 
of  Philadelphia,  but  throughout  the  country. 

Director  George  W.  Norris  has  taken  particular  interest  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  city  of  Philadelphia  and  recognizes  the  importance  of 
bringing  the  farmers  of  the  surrounding  territory  in  close  touch  with  the 
city. 

Clarence  Sears  Kates  has  been,  for  many  years,  interested  in  the 
question  of  agriculture.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Executive  Committee  of 
the  Philadelphia  Society  for  Promoting  Agriculture,  vice-president  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Rural  Progress  Association,  member  of  Pennsylvania 
State  Grange,  and  has  always  taken  a  personal  interest  in  these  public 
questions  and  owns  a  three  hundred  and  fifty  acre  farm.  Mr.  Kates  will 
act  as  secretary  for  the  Bureau. 

Plan  of  Work. 

The  Philadelphia  Agricultural  Service  Bureau  will  endeavor  to  work 
along  the  following  lines: 

First. — Supplying  agricultural  information  to  growers  and  producers; 
answering  inquiries  of  farmers  along  those  lines;  placing  him  in  commu- 
nication with  responsible  distributors  to  the  mutual  advantage  of  the 
fanner  and  the  Philadelphia  market. 

Second. — ^Assisting  banks  and  financial  institutions  to  develop  agri- 
culture in  their  particular  sections  by  arranging  for  agricultural  meetings, 
supplying  speakers  and  helping  with  agricultural  contests  and  shows. 

Third. — Standardization.  In  other  words,  recommending  methods 
to  standardize  the  farm  products  beginning  with  the  seed,  then  harvesting, 
sorting,  and  placing  in  such  standard  package  as  best  practice  demands. 
This  work  is  of  primary  importance,  and  is  the  keynote  for  the  farmer's 
selling  his  produce  to  his  best  advantage. 

Fourth. — Stimulating  the  establishment  of  farm  bureaus  in  all  coun- 
ties, so  that  information  may  be  quickly  obtained  from  the  agent  in  charge, 
and  given  directly  to  the  farmer  on  his  own  farm.  This  for  the  purpose 
of  increasing  the  farmer's  management  efficiency,  which  will  tend  to  re- 
duce his  cost  of  production  and  increase  the  size  of  his  crop. 

Fifth. — Establishing  connections  with  the  county  agents,  farmers' 
associations,  etc.,  wherever  located,  and  the  Philadelphia  Agricultural 
Service  Bureau  for  interchange  of  information,  both  as  to  supplies  for 
the  farms  and  for  produce  for  the  Philadelphia  market. 


269 

Sixth. — To  stimulate  the  making  of  soil  surveys  and  farm  manage- 
ment sm"veys. 

All  communications  should  be  addressed  to  the  Honorary  Secretary, 
Clarence  Sears  Kates,  Corn  Exchange  Bank  Building,  Second  and  Chest- 
nut streets,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

The  Bureau  has  informally  already  accomplished  good.  It  is  daily 
having  inquiries  from  farmers,  out-of-town  banks  and  business  men  for 
advice  as  to  the  improvement  of  agricultural  conditions  in  the  four  states. 
We  helped  to  secure  for  the  Farm  Bureau  in  West  Chester,  through  the 
Coimty  Commissioners,  $1,000,  and  we  are  endeavoring  at  the  present 
time  to  have  a  county  agent  established  in  Fayette  County  and  Monroe 
County.  The  Philadelphia  Vegetable  Growers'  Association  (a  new  asso- 
ciation just  started  at  Bustleton),  has  asked  the  Bureau  to  help  them  in 
trying  to  secure  the  convention  of  the  Vegetable  Growers'  Association 
of  America,  tO'  be  held  in  October,  for  this  city.  We  have  promised  our 
support  to  this,  and  plans  are  already  under  way  to  endeavor  to  have  the 
convention  held  here. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETORN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 


JUL-2 


LD  2lA-607n-4,'64 
(E4555sl0)476B 


.  General  Library 

University  of  California 

oerkeley 


re  61513 


661715 

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